NL·0256Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Anabas testudineus
- Family
- Anabantidae
- Native to
- Pakistan and India east to southern China, the Philippines and Indonesia; introduced to Papua New Guinea and northern Australian islands
- Habitat
- Swamps, Paddy fields, Ponds, Ditches
Climbing perch
Anabas testudineus
Also calledKoi কই (Bengali) · Kavai (Hindi) · Pla mo ปลาหมอ (Thai) · Puyu (Malay) · Cá rô đồng (Vietnamese) · Panayeri (Tamil)
A small, armoured air-breather that can 'walk' across land on its gill covers and fins in search of new water. It is a beloved Bengali food fish, sold alive in markets because it survives hours out of water.
The climbing perch is a species of amphibious freshwater fish in the family Anabantidae. A labyrinth fish native to Far Eastern Asia, the fish inhabits freshwater systems from 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. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iBreathes air through a labyrinth organ above the gills
- iiMoves over land by rocking on spiny gill covers and pushing with its fins and tail
- iiiSurvives out of water for hours if kept damp, and buries itself in mud in the dry season
- ivTolerates stagnant, warm, oxygen-poor and slightly brackish water
In the field
Field marks
- aSmall, robust, perch-like body with rough scales
- bOlive to grey-green with a dark spot at the base of the tail and often one behind the gill cover
- cSerrated gill cover with sharp spines
- dLong spiny dorsal fin
- Not to be confused with
- Gouramis (Trichogaster) are thinner and have long, thread-like pelvic fins. Snakeheads have a long, cylindrical body and a flat head.
- Where to see it
- Village ponds and paddies of Bangladesh and West Bengal; live tanks in markets in Dhaka, Kolkata, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur
- When
- Resident; breeds at the start of the rainy season (May–August); overland movements after heavy rain
Life & habits
- Diet
- Omnivore: insects, small fish, shrimp, worms and plant matter
- Habitat
- Shallow, vegetated still waters: swamps, paddies, ponds and canals
- Size
- Usually 10–20 cm; up to about 25 cm
- Lifespan
- Around 5–8 years
After heavy rain it may leave drying pools and travel overland at night to new water. Spawning pairs release floating eggs in the rainy season.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Pakistan and India east to southern China, the Philippines and Indonesia; introduced to Papua New Guinea and northern Australian islands
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
No plate in the Source Library names this exact species, so these show its closest relatives as the old naturalists drew them: same genus, or the same kind of animal. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Relative · Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.587
Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Relative · Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.552
Ortus sanitatis
Relative · 1491 · p.662
Books on Marine Fishes
Relative · Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.837
De Piscibus Libri V et De Cetis Liber Unus
Relative · Ulisse Aldrovandi · 1661 · p.681
Books on Marine Fishes
Relative · Guillaume Rondelet · 1554 · p.203
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Relative · Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.670
History of Animals, Book II: On Oviparous Quadrupeds
Relative · Conrad Gessner · 1586 · p.441
Compendium of Materia Medica: Illustrated Volume, Middle of the Lower Part
Relative · 李時珍 · 1596 · p.72
Compendium of Materia Medica: Illustrated Volume, Middle of the Lower Part
Relative · 李時珍 · 1596 · p.69
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Anabas testudineus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
In 1797 a Danish East India Company officer, Daldorf, reported seeing one climbing a palm tree near Tranquebar, which gave the fish its English name and its genus name Anabas, Greek for 'climber'. Most biologists doubt the tree story but accept that it travels over land.
Curiosity
Its species name testudineus means 'tortoise-like', after its tough, armoured head and scales.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 93987.