Puntius hexazona
Desmopuntius hexazona (WEBER & DE BEAUFORT, 1912)
‘Pentazona’ Barb
SynonymsTOP ↑
Barbus hexazona Weber & de Beaufort, 1912; Puntius hexazona (Weber & de Beaufort, 1912); Systomus hexazona (Weber & de Beaufort,1912)
Etymology
Desmopuntius: from the Ancient Greek δεσμψτης (desmotes), meaning ‘prisoner’, and the generic name Puntius, in reference to the barred colour pattern in member species.
hexazona: from the Ancient Greek ἕξ (héks), meaning ‘six’, and Latin zona, meaning ‘zone’, in reference to this species’ colour pattern.
Classification
Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae
Distribution
Native to parts of southern Borneo, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula.
In Singapore it’s considered highly-endangered and is now restricted to the Central Catchment nature reserve.
Type locality is ‘Tuluk and Gunung Sahilan, Sumatra, Indonesia’ which appears to correspond to localities within the Kampar River drainage of which the former is now known as Teluk Meranti and is one of many sites on Sumatra where the ancient peat swamp forest has been cleared to make space for oil palm plantations.
Habitat
Most often inhabits peat swamps and associated black water streams as well as other still waters, often in areas with submerged grasses or aquatic plants and dense riparian vegetation.
The water itself is typically stained brown with humic acids and other chemicals released by decaying organic material, dissolved mineral content is generally negligible and pH as low as 3.0 or 4.0.
Substrates are usually littered with fallen leaves, branches and submerged tree roots though in some places aquatic plants from genera such as Cryptocoryne or Barcalaya can be found.
In the North Selangor peat swamp, Peninsular Malaysia, sympatric fishes include Rasbora cephalotaenia, R. einthovenii, R. kalochroma, Nemacheilus selangoricus, Neohomaloptera johorensis, Kottelatlimia pristes, Mystus bimaculatus, Belontia hasselti, Betta bellica, B. livida, Sphaerichthys osphromenoides, Trichopodus trichopterus, and Luciocephalus pulcher.
Maximum Standard Length
50 – 55 mm.
Womens Street Ware
