Anabas testudineus

The climbing perch (Anabas testudineus) is a species of amphibious freshwater fish in the family Anabantidae (the climbing gouramis). A labyrinth fish native to Far Eastern Asia, the fish inhabits freshwater systems from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the west, to Southern China in the east, and to Southeast Asia west of the Wallace Line in the south. It is likely that Anabas testudineus is a species complex, with the binomial name applied to what are actually several different species. With further study, populations of this fish may be divided up into separate species and given new names.[1]

Climbing perch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Anabantiformes
Family: Anabantidae
Genus: Anabas
Species:
A. testudineus
Binomial name
Anabas testudineus
(Bloch, 1792)
Synonyms[2]
  • Anthias testudineus Bloch, 1792
  • Amphiprion testudineus (Bloch, 1792)
  • Antias testudineus (Bloch, 1792)
  • Sparus testudineus (Bloch, 1792)
  • Perca scandens Daldorff, 1797
  • Anabas scandens (Daldorff, 1797)
  • Lutjanus scandens (Daldorff, 1797)
  • Sparus scandens (Daldorff, 1797)
  • Amphiprion scansor Bloch & Schneider, 1801
  • Lutjanus testudo Lacepède, 1802
  • Anabas spinosus Gray, 1834
  • Anabas variegatus Bleeker, 1851
  • Anabas macrocephalus Bleeker, 1855
  • Anabas microcephalus Bleeker, 1857
  • Anabas trifoliatus Kaup, 1860
  • Anabas elongatus Reuvens, 1895

The climbing perch is euryhaline and can grow to 25 cm (9.8 in) in total length.[2] Outside its native ranges, it is an invasive species that can live without water for 6–10 hours[3] and move on land by crawling/wriggling the body with its pectoral fins. It is believed that the fish may be invading new territories by slipping aboard fishing boats. The fish has been established in some islands east of the Wallace Line, in eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and is also believed to be advancing toward Northern Australia. In late 2005, the fish was discovered on Saibai Island and another small Australian island in the Torres Strait north of Queensland, about three to four miles south of Papua New Guinea.[4]

As food

The climbing perch is important as a food fish in certain regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia, where its ability to survive out of the water for extended periods of time, provided it is kept moist, improves its marketability.[2]

Pla mo at a riverside market in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand
Anabas testudineus curry preparation

See also

References
  1. Ahmad, A.B.; Hadiaty, R.K.; de Alwis Goonatilake, S.; Fernado, M.; Kotagama, O. (2019). "Anabas testudineus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T166543A174787197. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T166543A174787197.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Anabas testudineus" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
  3. Hughes, G. M.; B. N. Singh (1970). "Respiration in an Air-Breathing Fish, the Climbing Perch Anabas Testudineus Bloch". Journal of Experimental Biology. 53: 265–280. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  4. Jonathan Pearlman, Aggressive 'walking' fish is heading south towards Australia, scientists warn, The Telegraph, Tuesday 02 June 2015 from telegraph.co.uk, accessed June 2, 2015.


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