Anabantiformes is an order of freshwater bony fish. They are collectively known as labyrinth fish and possess a special respiratory organ (the labyrinth) that allows them to breathe atmospheric oxygen at the surface. Native to Asia and Africa, they include popular aquarium fish such as bettas and gouramis, and are able to survive in low-oxygen waters.
They are an order of air-breathing freshwater ray-finned fish with three suborders, eight families, and at least 350 species. This order is the sister group to the Synbranchiformes, with both comprising the monophyletic clade Anabantaria. Anabantaria is a sister group to the Carangiformes, with the clade comprising both being a sister clade to the Ovalentaria. This group of fish are found in Asia and Africa, with some species introduced to North America.
These fish are characterized by the presence of teeth on the parasphenoid. The snakeheads and the anabantoids are united by the presence of the labyrinth organ, which is a highly folded suprabranchial accessory breathing organ. It is formed by vascularized expansion of the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch and used for respiration in air.Pinter, H. (1986). Labyrinth Fish. Barron's Educational Series, Inc.,
Many species are popular as aquarium fish - the most notable are the Siamese fighting fish and several species of gouramies. In addition to being aquarium fish, some of the larger anabantiforms (such as the giant gouramiChanphong, Jitkasem. (1995). Diseases of Giant Gourami, Osphronemus goramy (Lacepede) . The Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute Newsletter 4(1).) are also harvested for food in their native countries.
Taxonomy There are three suborders and eight families currently recognized within the order Anabantiformes:
Order Anabantiformes Suborder Anabantoidei Berg, 1940 Family Anabantidae Bonaparte, 1831 †Eoanabas Wu, Chang, Miao et al., 2016 Anabas Cloquet, 1816 Ctenopoma Peters, 1844 Microctenopoma Norris, 1995 Sandelia Castelnau, 1861 Family Helostomatidae Gill, 1872 Helostoma Cuvier, 1829 Family Osphronemidae van der Hoeven, 1832 †Ombilinichthys Murray et al., 2015a Subfamily Belontiinae Liem, 1962 Belontia Myers, 1923 Subfamily Osphroneminae van der Hoeven, 1832 Osphronemus Lacepède, 1801 Subfamily Luciocephalinae Bleeker, 1852 Luciocephalus Bleeker, 1851 Sphaerichthys Canestrini, 1860 Ctenops McClelland, 1845 Parasphaerichthys Prashad & Mukerji, 1929 Subfamily Macropodusinae Hoedeman, 1948 Trichogaster Bloch & Schneider, 1801 Trichopodus Lacepède, 1801 Betta Bleeker, 1850 Parosphromenus Bleeker, 1877 Macropodus Lacepède, 1801 Malpulutta Deraniyagala, 1937 Pseudosphromenus Bleeker, 1879 Trichopsis Canestrini, 1860 Suborder Channoidei Berg, 1940 Family Aenigmachannidae Britz et al., 2020 Aenigmachanna Britz, Anoop, Dahanukar & Raghavan, 2019 Family Channidae Fowler, 1934 †Anchichanna Murray & Thewissen, 2008 (one species) †Eochanna Roe, 1991 Parachanna Teugels & Daget, 1984 Channa Scopoli, 1777 Suborder Nandoidei Bleeker, 1852 Family Nandidae Bleeker, 1852 Nandus Valenciennes, 1831 Family Badidae Barlow, Liem & Wickler, 1968 Badis Bleeker, 1853 Dario Kullander & Britz, 2002 Family Pristolepididae Regan, 1913 ?†Palaeopristolepis Borkar, 1973 Pristolepis Jerdon, 1849
Alternative systematics Phylogeny Below shows the phylogenetic relationships among the Anabantiform families after Collins et al. (2015), here including the Nandoidei as Anabantiforms:
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