Scleropages formosus (Schlegel and Müller, 1829)
Species overview
Large fish, body moderately long, oval in cross section, moderately compressed, greatest depth between dorsal fin and anal fin. Head short, mouth wide. Pectoral fin long, pointed, pelvic fin short, obtuse, abdominal. Base of dorsal fin short, of anal fin long, caudal fin longer than deep, rounded. Olive to brown, flanks silvery, scales each with a dark spot.
Size observed: Attains 90 and about 7 kg. Esteemed for its meat.
Taxonomic description
-Body moderately long, oval incross section, moderatly compressed, outlines of back nearly running parallel, but greatest depth between dorsal and anal fin.
-Head short, sligthly longer than deep, upper profile of head straigth, underside straight, steeper than upper profile.
-Postorbital region about two times as long as snout.
-Mouth slightly supraterminal, quite wide, its edge about one snout length posterior to rim of eye.
-Chin with short barble.
-Opercular cleft long, rather square.
-Eye large.
-Pectoral fin originating close to lower edge of opercular cleft, extending almost to pelvic fin, pointed.
-Pelvic fin abdominal, at about middle of body, closer to anal than to pectoral fin, obtusely pointed.
-Base of dorsal fin short, about 20 fin-rays, about as long as base; dorsal originating nearly above middle of anal fin.
-Anal with long base, its longest fin-rays in posterior half.
-Caudal fin large, its rays longer than its base.
-Scales on body large, nearly equal in size, 21-25 in lateral line.
- Coloration, "Silvery grey to pale yellowish-green with brilliant iridescent patches; barbles bluish to seagreen: throat orange to deep red; the large scales along the flanks each with a dark red spot; fins yellowish or pale greenish, partly with brownish or reddish pattern."
Type locality
Not known.
Distribution
Borneo, Malaya, Sumatra, Thailand.