The Anabantidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

within the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

Anabantiformes The Anabantiformes , collectively known as Labyrinth fish. are an order of air-breathing freshwater ray-finned fish with two suborders, five families (Channidae, Aenigmachannidae, Anabantidae, Helostomatidae, and Osphronemidae) and having a ...

commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. The family includes about 34 species. As

labyrinth fishes The Anabantoidei are a suborder of anabantiform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or la ...

, they possess a

labyrinth organ The Anabantoidei are a suborder of anabantiform ray-finned freshwater fish distinguished by their possession of a lung-like labyrinth organ, which enables them to breathe air. The fish in the Anabantoidei suborder are known as anabantoids or la ...

, a structure in the fish's head which allows it to breathe atmospheric

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as we ...

. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water. The air is held in a structure called the suprabranchial chamber, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream via the respiratory epithelium covering the labyrinth organ. This therefore allows the fish to move small distances across land.

Genera

There are four extant genera within the family Anabantidae: * '' Anabas'' Cloquet, 1816 * ''

Ctenopoma ''Ctenopoma'' is a genus of climbing gouramies native to Africa. ''Microctenopoma'' has been included in ''Ctenopoma'' in the past; in contrast to that genus, ''Ctenopoma'' species are egg scatterers with no parental care. Species The 18 current ...

Peters Peters may refer to: People * Peters (surname) * Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada Places United States * Peters, California, a census-designated place * Peters, Florida, a town * Peters Township, Kingman County, Kansa ...

, 1844 * ''

Microctenopoma ''Microctenopoma'' is a genus of fish in the Anabantidae (climbing gourami) family. They are native to Africa. ''Microctenopoma'' has been included in '' Ctenopoma'' in the past; unlike that genus, they are bubblenest builders, and the males def ...

'' Norris, 1995 * ''

Sandelia ''Sandelia'' is a genus of climbing gouramies native to freshwater habitats in South Africa. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * ''Sandelia bainsii The Eastern Province rocky (''Sandelia bainsii''), also known a ...

'' ( Castelnau, 1861) There is also at least one extinct genus known: * †''

Eoanabas ''Eoanabas thibetana'' is an extinct climbing gourami from the Late Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older ...

'' Wu, Chang, Miao ''et al'', 2016 Of the four genera, '' Anabas'' is found from

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

(they are called (Tamil: பனையேறி கெண்டை (Panaieri Kendai) ''chemballi'' (Malayalam: ) in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, ''kau'' (odia : କଉ ମାଛ) in

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

, India, Kawoi maas(কাৱৈ মাছ) in

Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...

, ''kawaiya'' in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, Bangla: কই মাছ (koi mach), east to China and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. The remaining three genera are all restricted to Africa. They are primarily

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...

fishes and only very rarely are found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water. Parental care is varied; ''Anabas'' and ''Ctenopoma'' simply abandon their

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, ''Microctenopoma'' species produce bubblenests like their relatives in the Osphronemidae, and ''Sandelia'' lays their eggs on the substrate. Climbing gouramis are so named due to their ability to "climb" out of water and "walk" short distances. Even though it has not been reliably observed, some authors have mentioned about them having a tree climbing ability. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports, and the fish pushes itself using its fins and tail.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q797543 * Anabantiformes Fish of Southeast Asia Fish of Thailand Amphibious fish Extant Chattian first appearances Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte