The elephant ear gourami (''Osphronemus exodon'') is a large species of

gourami Gouramis, or gouramies , are a group of fresh water, freshwater Anabantiformes, anabantiform fish that comprise the family (biology), family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and northeas ...

native to the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of and a drainage area of , discharging of wat ...

river basin in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

, and

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Distribution and habitat

In the wild, the elephant ear gourami is found in the

river basin of

, and

. It is only known for certain from the middle part of the basin, from Kampong Cham Province (central Cambodia) to Sainyabuli Province (northern Laos).Poulsen, A.F., and Valbo-Jørgensen, J. (2000). Fish Migrations and Spawning Habits in the Mekong Mainstream - A Survey using Local Knowledge. AMFC Technical Report. Mekong River Commission, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The closely related

giant gourami The giant gourami (''Osphronemus goramy'') is a species of large gourami native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia. It has also been introduced elsewhere. The species is commercial fisheries, commercially important as a food fish and is als ...

(''O. goramy'') has been reported from the same section, but these records are likely misidentifications of elephant ear gouramis.Rainboth, W.J. (1996). Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong, p. 218. FAO, United Nations. .Roberts, T.R. (1994). Osphronemus exodon, a new species of giant gourami with extraordinary dentition from the Mekong. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society 42(1): 67–77 In contrast, reports of elephant ear gouramis from the

Mekong Delta The Mekong Delta ( or simply ), also known as the Western Region () or South-western region (), is the list of regions of Vietnam, region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong, Mekong River River delta, approaches and empties into the sea th ...

are possibly misidentifications of giant gouramis. The only section of the Mekong basin where the giant gourami likely occurs naturally are in the southernmost part, like tributaries originating in the northern

Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains (, ; , ), or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the southwest part of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range is within Cambodia. The silhouette of the Cardamom Mountains appears in the Sea ...

. During the wet season, elephant ear gouramis are found in

flooded forest Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are foun ...

s and floodplains. During the dry season, they are found in permanent bodies of water, like the Mekong mainstream. Their seasonal movements are triggered by water levels.

Description

Adults can grow up to . Like other species of the genus ''

Osphronemus ''Osphronemus'' is a genus of large gouramis, the only genus within the subfamily Osphroneminae. These fish are known as the giant gouramis and are native to rivers, lakes, pools, swamps and floodplains in Southeast Asia, with ''O. exodon'' fro ...

'', juveniles and adults of this species have physical differences. Juveniles have 6 or 7 vertical stripes and a spot on the back, which fades as they get older. A red orange stripe appears around the bottom of the head when a juvenile grows up to about around . Adults are pale on its fins and blackish on its body.

Conservation

Elephant ear gouramis are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Dams in the

disrupted the wet and dry season cycle which lowered the population of this species.

Reproduction

Adults reproduce in non flowing waters. They build nests with leaves and roots then one parent guards the nest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:gourami, ear, elephant elephant ear gourami Taxa named by Tyson R. Roberts elephant ear gourami