| Ornate paradisefish | |
|---|---|
) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Anabantiformes |
| Family: | Osphronemidae |
| Subfamily: | Macropodusinae |
| Genus: | Malpulutta Deraniyagala, 1937 |
| Species: | M. kretseri |
| Binomial name | |
| Malpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937 | |
The ornate paradisefish (Malpulutta kretseri) or spotted gourami, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. It inhabits shallow, slow-flowing streams in forested areas shaded with plentiful vegetation near the edges and a substrate covered by leaf litter. It is a carnivore, preying on plankton, fish fry, and the larvae of insects. They can reach a length of 4 cm (1.6 in), though most are only around 2 cm (0.79 in). This species can also occasionally be found in the aquarium trade,[2] where it is reportedly exceedingly shy. The specific name of this fish honours the Sri Lankan lawyer and judge Oswald Leslie De Kretser II.[3]
References
- ^ Kotagama, O.; de Alwis Goonatilake, S. & Fernado, M. (2019). "Malpulutta kretseri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T12726A117405689. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Malpulutta kretseri" in FishBase. February 2014 version.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (21 October 2019). "Order ANABANTIFORMES: Families ANABANTIDAE, HELOSTOMATIDAE, OSPHRONEMIDAE, CHANNIDAE, NANDIDAE, BADIDAE, and PRISTOLEPIDIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 December 2019.