''Betta aurigans'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
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 ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Indonesian Borneo
Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo.
In 2019, ...
, specifically the island of
Natuna Besar
Great Natuna Island (''Pulau Natuna Besar'' in Indonesian language, Indonesian) or just Natuna is the main island of the Natuna Islands, Middle Natuna Archipelago, which is part of the Riau Islands Province, Indonesia. It is also called Great Bung ...
, north-west of the island of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
.
The species name ''aurigans'' is so named after the Latin for gold (''
aurum''), due to the golden colouring of the scales of the fish.
According to Linke, they live in "
blackwater swamp regions."
As a species from the ''B. akarensis'' cluster of closely related species and from its locality, it has been speculated that ''Betta akarensis'' is 5 cm (1.96 in). It is also speculated that ''Betta aurigans'' feeds on plankton and small invertebrates. It is a mouthbrooder.
References
aurigans
Fish described in 2004
{{Anabantiformes-stub