''Belontia'', sometimes referred to combtail gouramies, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of ...

s, the only genus within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Belontiinae, native to freshwater habitats in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. These are medium sized to large gouramies that are seldom kept in aquariums due to their aggression and relative lack of the color common to the gouramies.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * ''

Belontia hasselti The Malay combtail (''Belontia hasselti'') is a species of gourami native to southeast Asia where it is found in peat swamps of the Malay Peninsula and the Greater Sunda Islands. This species can reach a length of SL. It is a commercially imp ...

'' (

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1831) (Malay combtail) * ''

Belontia signata ''Belontia signata'', the Ceylonese combtail, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. This species inhabits shallow, slow-flowing clear-water streams. It can reach a length of TL though most are only around . It is also found in the aq ...

'' ( Günther, 1861) (Ceylonese combtail)

References

Osphronemidae Freshwater fish of Asia Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by George S. Myers {{Anabantiformes-stub