Anabantiformes
| Anabantiformes | |
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| Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Acanthopterygii |
| Order: |
Anabantiformes Britz, 1995 |
| Suborders and Families | |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Anabantiformes are an order of freshwater ray-finned fish with seven families (Pristolepididae, Badidae, Nandidae, Channidae, Anabantidae, Helostomatidae, and Osphronemidae) and having at least 242 species. This group of fish are found in Asia and Africa, with some species introduced in United States of America.
These fish are characterized by the presence of teeth on the parasphenoid. The snakeheads and the anabantoids are united by the presence of the labyrinth organ, which is a much-folded suprabranchial accessory breathing organ. It is formed by vascularized expansion of the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch and used for respiration in air.
Many species are popular as aquarium fish the most notable is the Siamese fighting fish and several species of gouramies. In addition to being aquarium fish, anabantiforms are also harvest for food in their native countries, such as the giant gourami, Other species of gouramies are also harvest for food.
Below shows the phylogenetic relationships among the anabantiform families after Collins et al. (2015):
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