I am no great fan of taxonomic changes... from species to so-called
"higher" levels... And my favorite unfavorite example of high
taxonomic move-abouts is this small group of interesting fishes...
Currently, they are placed in no less than three different families....
Nelson (1994) has them in with the otherwise monotypic Tripletail
(Family Lobotidae), to keep pace, place with one standard reference I
have moved my materials on this group (images, articles) to
fishbase.org's Coiidae from the oh-so beloved Datnoididae... You
may find them here/there in the literature.
Wherever they're placed above the genus
ranking, there are five total species, two of which make their way into
pet-fish markets on a semi-regular basis. Neither need to be
"salted", but are indexed here (as brackish) to make this
point.
| Coius microlepis (Bleeker 1853), the
Finescale or Siamese Tigerfish. Found throughout the Chao Phraya
and Mekong Basins in S.E. Asia, western Borneo, Sumatra and
Thailand. To eighteen inches in length. Deep bodied (2.1-2.4 into
Standard Length), with five body bars. Feeds on live foods as
juveniles and adults. |
|
| Bigger PIX: The images in this table are linked to
large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to
go to the larger size. |
|
|
| Coius quadrifasciatus (Sevastianov 1839),
the Four-Barred or Siamese Tigerfish (up to seven body bars...).
India, Indonesia, New Guinea. To a foot in length. Found in
freshwater lakes to brackish settings. Aquarium images. |
 
|
