Kittipong Jaruthanin ( th, กิตติพงษ์ จารุธาณินทร์ or spelt Kittipong Jarutanin; born 1958 in

Din Daeng District Din Daeng ( th, ดินแดง, ) is one of the 50 districts (''khet'') of Bangkok, Thailand. Its neighbours, clockwise from north, are Chatuchak, Huai Khwang, Ratchathewi, and Phaya Thai. History The district was created in 1993, when t ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

) is a Thai nature explorer, collector, aquarist, aquarium trader and ichthyologist. Although he did not graduate in science or biology, he is considered one of Thailand's leading freshwater fish specialists, he took on the alias ''"River Fish Tycoon"'' and ''"Indiana Jones Thailand"''.

Early life

Jaruthanin became interested in freshwater fish in childhood and has worked with freshwater fish collection since 1975. He became serious in 1982 from studying paradise threadfin ('' Polynemus paradiseus'') at the mouth of Bangkok Noi Canal near

Phra Pin-klao Bridge The Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge ( th, สะพานสมเด็จพระปิ่นเกล้า, , ) is a bridge near the Grand Palace over the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand. It links Rattanakosin Island with Thonburi. Backg ...

. He is regarded as the first person in the world to be able to raise wild caught this species of fish to survive in captivity.

Career

He explores nature and rivers throughout every region of Thailand and neighboring countries such as

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

Mae Klong The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Mae Khlong or Meklong, is a river in western Thailand. The river begins at the confluence of the Khwae Noi (Khwae Sai Yok) and the Khwae Yai River (Khwae Si Sawat) in Kanchanaburi, it passes Ratchaburi ...

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. E ...

Basins or Sirindhorn Peat Swamp Forest, the largest peat swamp in Thailand. He is the discoverer and colleague

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

of freshwater fish, including various species of aquatic animals, to study and taxonomy as many new species of the world such as

giant freshwater stingray The giant freshwater stingray (''Urogymnus polylepis'', also widely known by the junior synonym ''Himantura chaophraya'') is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae. It is found in large rivers and estuaries in Southeast Asia and Borneo, ...

('' Himantura chaophraya''), thinlip barb (''

Probarbus labeaminor ''Probarbus labeaminor'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Laos and Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, l ...

''), '' Schistura jarutanini'', '' S. kaysonei'' or roughback whipray (''Himantura kittipongi'') and Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle (''Chitra vandijki'') etc.Kittipong Jaruthanin, กริวดาว... เสียดาย! สูญพันธุ์ตั้งแต่ยังไม่ได้เกิด (What a shame! The Extinct Narrow-Headed Softshell Turtle) นิตยสาร Aquarium Biz Vol.1 Issue 11 (May 2011) th, ภาษาไทย In the case of Burmese narrow-headed softshell turtle, he studied himself until he was sure that it was truly a new species of softshell turtle in the world. But with the delay of the data transmission process, causing the scientific name he designated to be only unfortunately synonym ( nomen nudum). He is an invited writer for many aquarium magazines in Thailand. Moreover, he is the owner of an aquarium shop, focusing on wild caught fish at the Sunday Market within

Chatuchak Weekend Market The Chatuchak Weekend Market ( th, ตลาดนัดจตุจักร, ), on Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok, is the largest market in Thailand. Also known as JJ Market, it has more than 15,000 stalls and 11,505 vendors (2019) ...

. He operates a small zoo called ''"Home Zoo"'', collecting

exotic pet An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough est ...

s and rare species such as capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris''),

flamingos Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...

, Asian narrow-headed softshell turtle (''Chitra chitra''),

Malaysian giant turtle The Malaysian giant turtle or Bornean river turtle (''Orlitia borneensis'') is a species of turtle in the family Bataguridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Orlitia''. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia. This species is the largest fresh ...

(''Orlitia borneensis''), albino elephant trunk snake (''Acrochordus javanicus''),

Australian lungfish The Australian lungfish (''Neoceratodus forsteri''), also known as the Queensland lungfish, Burnett salmon and barramunda, is the only surviving member of the family Neoceratodontidae. It is one of only six extant lungfish species in the world. ...

(''Neoceratodus forsteri''),

Lyle's flying fox Lyle's flying fox (''Pteropus lylei'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is found in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, with an outlying population in Yunnan, China. It faces persecution from farmers and it is killed for bus ...

(''Pteropus lylei''), Chinese water dragon (''Physignathus cocincinus'') including

coco de mer Coco commonly refers to: * Coco (folklore), a mythical bogeyman in many Hispano- and Lusophone nations Coco may also refer to: People * Coco (given name), a first name, its shorthand, or unrelated nickname * Coco (surname), a list of people w ...

(''Lodoicea maldivica'') also one moment.Kittipong Jaruthanin, เปิดตำนานเจ้าพ่อปลาแม่น้ำ "กิตติพงษ์ จารุธาณินทร์" (Interviews with River Legendary "Kittipong Jaruthanin"), Aquarium Biz, Vol. 1 Issue 2 (August 2010) th, ภาษาไทย

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaruthanin, Kittipong Living people Taxon authorities Kittipong Jaruthanin 1958 births Zoo owners Kittipong Jaruthanin