Datnioides microlepis
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Datnioididae Datnioides polota 1.jpg
| image_caption = Captive in Siam Ocean World
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Datnioides microlepis
| authority = Bleeker, 1854
| synonyms = * Coius microlepis (Bleeker, 1854)
}}
Datnioides microlepis, also known as the Indonesian tiger perch, Indo datmoid, Indonesian tigerfish, or finescale tigerfish, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae, the tripletails and tiger perches. This species is endemic to the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.{{cite journal | author1 = Roberts, T. R. | author2 = Kottelat, M. | year=1994 | title=The Indo-Pacific tigerperches, with a new species from the Mekong basin (Pisces: Coiidae) | journal = Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | pages = 257–266 | doi = }}
Taxonomy
Datnioides microlepis was first formally described in 1854 by the Dutch physician, herpetologist and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker with its type locality given as the Kapuas River at Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia.{{Cof genus|genus=Datnioides|access-date=27 October 2023}} This taxon was considered to be conspecific with the Siamese tigerfish (D. pulcher), which was included in D. microlepis until 1998.{{cite journal |last=Kottelat |first=M. |title=Fishes of the Nam Theun and Xe Bangfai basins, Laos, with diagnoses of twenty-two new species (Teleostei: Cyprinidae, Balitoridae, Cobitidae, Coiidae and Odontobutidae |journal=Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters |year=1998 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=1–128}}{{cite journal |last=Kottelat |first=M. |title=The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries |journal=Raffles Bulletin of Zoology|year=2013 |volume=27 |pages=1–663}} The 5th edition of the Fishes of the World classifies this genus as one of two genera in the family Lobotidae, alongside the tripletails in the genus Lobotes, which it places in the order Spariformes.{{cite book |author1=Nelson, J.S. |author1-link=Joseph S. Nelson |author2=Grande, T.C. |author3=Wilson, M.V.H. |year=2016 |title=Fishes of the World |edition=5th |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |place=Hoboken, NJ |pages=502–506 |isbn=978-1-118-34233-6 |lccn=2015037522 |oclc=951899884 |ol=25909650M |doi=10.1002/9781119174844}}
Etymology
Datnioides microlepis has the specific name microlepis which means "small scales", an allusion to the smaller scales of this species compared to D. polota.{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/eupercaria/ |title=Series EUPERCARIA (Incertae sedis): Families CALLANTHIIDAE, CENTROGENYIDAE, DINOPERCIDAE, EMMELICHTHYIDAE, MALACANTHIDAE, MONODACTYLIDAE, MORONIDAE, PARASCORPIDIDAE, SCIAENIDAE and SILLAGINIDAE |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |access-date=26 October 2023 |date=9 March 2023 |publisher=Christopher Scharpf |archive-date=17 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217162719/https://etyfish.org/eupercaria/ |url-status=dead }}
Description
Datnioides microlepis has the deepest body of the species in the genus Datnioides, its standard length being 2.1 to 2.4 times its depth. The maximum published total length for this species is {{cvt|65|cm}}, and it comes from South Sumatra making it the largest species of Datnioides.{{FishBase|Datnoides|microlepis|month=June|year=2023}}{{FishBase genus|genus=Datnioides|month=June|year=2023}} It may be identified from its congeners by having 6 or 7 broad dark vertical bars on the body, with a yellowish-grey background colour. The band nearest the head typically runs unbroken over the operculum and over the throat. There is an obvious black marking just in front of the base of the pelvic fin. The part of the back in front of the dorsal fin is straight.{{cite web| title=Datnioides microlepis Bleeker, 1854 Indonesian Tiger Perch | url=https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/datnioides-microlepis/ | publisher=SeriouslyFish | accessdate=5 January 2020 }}
Distribution and habitat
Datnioides microlepis is found in Sumatra and western Kalimantan on Borneo in large lowland rivers, sometimes entering brackish waters. It often prefers areas with an abundance of submerged branches and is found in flooded forests. Records of this species from the drainage basins of the Chao Praya and Mekong are thought to refer to the Siamese tigerfish.
Biology
Datnioides microlepis is a predatory species, adults feed on crustaceans and smaller fishes, as well as annelids and insects, while juveniles feed on zooplankton. Adults are solitary and aggressive to other members of its species while the juveniles will gather in groups. In the Kapuas river, the local fishermen have observed that this species spawns in April and May.
Utilisation
Datnioides microlepis is a food fish and overfishing, as well as pollution, threaten the populations in some areas. It is a rare item in the aquarium trade.
References
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Category:Freshwater fish of Malaysia
Category:Freshwater fish of Indonesia