First records of Croaking Gourami, Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831) (Teleostei: Osphronemidae), from Myanmar and Bangladesh

Abstract

The Croaking Gourami, Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831), is native to Southeast Asia and Sundaland, with introductions reported from USA, Philippines and India. The species was found by us in Myanmar (1997), and Bangladesh (2014. DNA analysis supports the view that T. vittata is a species complex. Specimens from Bangladesh, Myanmar and the European aquarium trade are the same genotype as specimens from Thailand, possibly corresponding to Trichopsis harrisi Fowler, 1934, considered a synonym of T. vittata. Non-native populations are likely due to release from aquarium specimens.

Building a DNA barcode library for the freshwater fishes of Bangladesh

“…OBU 32 represents Trichopsis vittata . It is the first record of a feral population of an introduced species originating in South East Asia, which is not also an aquaculture species and the barcode is specific for the aquarium population derived from a specific region in Thailand 21 .…”

On the identity of the banded gourami Trichogaster fasciata with notes on the taxonomic status of Trichopodus bejeus (Teleostei: Perciformes: Osphronemidae)

“…Stable taxonomy is the starting point for conservation prioritization and management mechanisms (Sudhasinghe et al ., 2020). Although the taxonomy of Trichogaster is now stable, reports of invasive species such as Osphronemus goramy , Trichopodus trichopterus , Trichopsis vittata and Macropodus opercularis (Knight, 2010a; Knight & Balasubramanian, 2015; Knight & Devi, 2010; Norén et al ., 2017) from the known distribution range of Trichogaster spp. are of great concern as these invasive species potentially occupy the same niche as Trichogaster spp.…”