Harlequin rasbora
| Harlequin rasbora | |
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| Harlequin rasbora | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Trigonostigma |
| Species: | T. heteromorpha |
| Binomial name | |
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Trigonostigma heteromorpha (Duncker, 1904) |
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The harlequin rasbora a small fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, subfamily Rasborinae, which was originally given the scientific name of Rasbora heteromorpha. The specific name heteromorpha, translating from the Greek as "differently shaped", alludes to the fact that the body shape of this species differs from that of other members of the genus Rasbora, and as a consequence of this and assorted other factors (including the difference in breeding technique), the fish was assigned to a new genus, Trigonostigma, and is thus now known to science as Trigonostigma heteromorpha. The common name for this fish, harlequin rasbora or harlequin fish, alludes to the black triangular patch upon the body, which is reminiscent of the patterns found on the costume of a harlequin.
The species is a popular aquarium fish, and is perhaps the best known of all the rasboras. The species has been in circulation among aquarists since 1934 (Innes, 1966, p. 172).
The harlequin rasbora is a native of Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and southern Thailand. It is an inhabitant of streams and other waterbodies that are located in peat swamp forests (more details covered in habitat, below).
The harlequin rasbora is a fish that has an approximately lozenge-shaped body, whose basal colour from the head to the caudal peduncle is an orange-pink, the exact hue varying depending upon such factors as water conditions and the original population from which the fish was obtained. The posterior half of the body is overlaid with a large, roughly triangular black marking, that tapers toward the terminal end of the caudal peduncle, and begins approximately below the midpoint of the attachment of the dorsal fin (commonly called a "black wedge"). In common with all cyprinids, the articulation of the pectoral and pelvic fins follows a familiar pattern, the pectoral fins being located immediately posterior to the operculum or gill cover, whilst the pelvic fins are located some way further back along the ventral portion of the body, in this case almost directly in a vertical line drawn through the dorsal fin. This relationship between the pectoral and pelvic fins is seen in characins as well as cyprinids, and is a feature of all the ostariophysans (fishes possessing an auxiliary mechanism for detecting sound consisting of a set of internal bones called the Weberian ossicles).
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