Scleropages
Encyclopedia
Sceleropages is a genus of freshwater
fishes found in Asia
and Australia
. Six species are currently recognized. All are carnivorous and have great jumping ability. Most are endangered in the wild to some degree. Scleropages species are highly valued as aquarium fish, particularly by those from Asian cultures.
Before 2003, three species were recognized from this genus (S. formosus, S. jardinii, and S. leichardti). In that year, a study was published which determined several naturally occurring color varieties of S. formosus, the Asian arowana
, actually comprised four separate species, bringing the species count for the genus to six.
The ancestor of the Australian arowanas, S. jardinii and S. leichardti, diverged from the ancestor of the Asian arowanas about 140 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous
period. The morphological similarity of all six species shows that little evolutionary change has taken place recently for these ancient fish.
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
fishes found in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Six species are currently recognized. All are carnivorous and have great jumping ability. Most are endangered in the wild to some degree. Scleropages species are highly valued as aquarium fish, particularly by those from Asian cultures.
Before 2003, three species were recognized from this genus (S. formosus, S. jardinii, and S. leichardti). In that year, a study was published which determined several naturally occurring color varieties of S. formosus, the Asian arowana
Asian arowana
The Asian arowana comprises several varieties of freshwater fish in the genus Scleropages. Some sources differentiate these varieties into multiple species, while others consider the different strains to belong to a single species, Scleropages formosus...
, actually comprised four separate species, bringing the species count for the genus to six.
The ancestor of the Australian arowanas, S. jardinii and S. leichardti, diverged from the ancestor of the Asian arowanas about 140 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
period. The morphological similarity of all six species shows that little evolutionary change has taken place recently for these ancient fish.
Species
Species are listed with their most prominent common names.- Scleropages aureus Pouyaud, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003 — gold arowana, red-tailed golden arowana
- Scleropages formosus (Sa. MüllerSalomon MüllerDr Salomon Müller was a German naturalist.Müller was the son of a saddler in Heidelberg. In 1823 Müller, along with Heinrich Boie and Heinrich Christian Macklot, was sent by Coenraad Jacob Temminck to collect specimens in the East Indies. Müller visited Indonesia in 1826, New Guinea and Timor in...
& SchlegelHermann SchlegelHermann Schlegel was a German ornithologist and herpetologist.-Early life and education:Schlegel was born at Altenburg, the son of a brassfounder. His father collected butterflies, which stimulated Schlegel's interest in natural history...
, 1844) — green arowana, Asian bonytongue, Malayan arowana - Scleropages jardinii (Saville-KentWilliam Saville-KentWilliam Saville-Kent was an English marine biologist.Born in Sidmouth, Devon, his childhood was marred by the death of his mother, the murder of his half-brother and conviction of his sister Constance to twenty years in prison...
, 1892) — Gulf saratoga, Australian arowana, Australian bonytongue, northern barramundi - Scleropages legendrei Pouyaud, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003: red arowana, super red arowana, blood red arowana, chili arowana
- Scleropages leichardti Günther, 1864 — saratoga, Australian arowana, Dawson River salmon, spotted saratoga, spotted barramundi, spotted arowana
- Scleropages macrocephalus Pouyaud, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003: silver Asian arowana, yellow-tailed silver arowana, gray-tailed silver arowana