''Sphaerichthys'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of gouramis native to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

known as chocolate gourami. These species live mostly in blackwater rivers/swamps with acidic water. They have dark-light brownish hues with the exception being the female of S. vaillanti which can be dark reddish brown with green-dark blue/black stripes. They are shy fish that are hard to find because of their

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

which when in action makes them look like a dead leaf floating along the river.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * '' Sphaerichthys acrostoma'' Vierke, 1979 (Giant chocolate gourami) * '' Sphaerichthys osphromenoides'' Canestrini, 1860 (Chocolate gourami) * '' Sphaerichthys selatanensis'' Vierke, 1979 (Crossband chocolate gourami) * '' Sphaerichthys vaillanti'' Pellegrin, 1930 (Valliant's chocolate gourami) S. acrostoma, S. selatanesis, and S. vaillanti are found in Borneo (Kalimantan), while S. osphromenoides is found in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

References

Luciocephalinae Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Giovanni Canestrini {{Anabantiformes-stub