Pao palembangensis

Pao palembangensis[2] (formerly Tetraodon palembangensis), is a species of freshwater pufferfish native to Thailand, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia in Southeast Asia. Its commonly called the humpback puffer or dragon puffer. It is bred for aquaria as an ornamental fish because of its beautiful skin colouration and pattern.

Pao palembangensis
Engorged Pao palembangensis
in Iconographia Zoologica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Tetraodontiformes
Family: Tetraodontidae
Genus: Pao
Species:
P. palembangensis
Binomial name
Pao palembangensis
(Bleeker, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Tetraodon palembangensis Bleeker, 1852
  • Monotretus palembangensis (Bleeker, 1852)
  • Tetraodon pinguis Vaillant, 1902

Description
Unengored individual

Living in alkalescent, warm (24–28°), and slow-flowing rivers, Pao palembangensis is a distinct fish. It grows to a length of 19.4 centimetres (7.6 in) SL, with both sexes having a similar body size, but the male having a much larger rear hump.[3] It is the largest member of its genus, and the third-largest freshwater pufferfish, only being outsized by the Fahaka[4] and Mbu pufferfish[5] puffers. It is chocolate-brown, with a pale mottled underbelly and an elongated head. The large eyes of this fish are a distinct orange. As a pufferfish its body contains the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX),[6] and it can swell up to three times its normal size as a defence mechanism when threatened.[7] Having a small genome size (362Mb), a chromosome-scale genome assembly of P. palembangensis was sequenced as part of the Fish10K subproject of the Earth BioGenome Project.[8]

Behaviour

It was previously thought to be an ambush predator but it is now believed that is not the case. P. palembangensis is an active hunter that pursues sleeping aquatic prey. It is a nocturnal fish as evidence by its large eyes, increased nightly activity, and daytime sleep.[9].

References
  1. Daniels, A. (2020). "Pao palembangensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T91348632A91348644. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T91348632A91348644.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Kottelat, M. (2013): The Fishes of the Inland Waters of Southeast Asia: A Catalogue and Core Bibliography of the Fishes Known to Occur in Freshwaters, Mangroves and Estuaries. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2013, Supplement No. 27: 1–663.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2012). "Tetraodon palembangensis" in FishBase. October 2012 version.
  4. "size". fishbase. 2 December 1852. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  5. "size". fishbase. 2 December 1852. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  6. Saitanu, Kriengsag; Laobhripatr, Suchart; Limpakarnjanarat, Khanchit; Sangwanloy, Orapan; Sudhasaneya, Suthida; Anuchatvorakul, Boossakorn; Leelasitorn, Somkriat (1991-01-01). "Toxicity of the freshwater puffer fish Tetraodon fangi and T. palembangensis from Thailand". Toxicon. 29 (7): 895–897. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(91)90226-H. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 1926188.
  7. Saitanu, Kriengsag; Laobhripatr, Suchart; Limpakarnjanarat, Khanchit; Sangwanloy, Orapan; Sudhasaneya, Suthida; Anuchatvorakul, Boossakorn; Leelasitorn, Somkriat (1991-01-01). "Toxicity of the freshwater puffer fish Tetraodon fangi and T. palembangensis from Thailand". Toxicon. 29 (7): 895–897. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(91)90226-H. ISSN 0041-0101. PMID 1926188.
  8. Zhang, Rui; Li, Chang; Yu, Mengjun; Huang, Xiaoyun; Zhang, Mengqi; Liu, Shanshan; Pan, Shanshan; Xue, Weizhen; Wang, Congyan; Mao, Chunyan; Zhang, He (2021). "Chromosome-level genome assembly of the humpback puffer, Tetraodon palembangensis". Gigabyte. 2021: 1–12. doi:10.46471/gigabyte.17. PMC 9632004.
  9. "the beast of nations". aquaradiss. Retrieved 3 February 2022.


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