Dermogenys pusilla Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823

Open encyclopedia reference

The wrestling halfbeak (Dermogenys pusilla) also known as Malayan halfbeak is a species of viviparous halfbeak native to the fresh and brackish waters of rivers and coastal regions in South-East Asia, in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. It is a small, slender, livebearing fish, with the elongated lower jaw characteristic of its family. The colour of this species varies, depending on where the specimen is found. It is the type species of the genus Dermogenys. Wrestling halfbeaks are surface-feeding fish and feed on a variety of small invertebrates including crustaceans and insect larvae, but especially mosquito larvae and flying insects that have fallen onto the surface of the water. As with all halfbeaks, the upper jaw lifts upwards when the fish is opening its mouth. Wrestling halfbeaks are livebearing fish, the females giving birth to around twenty offspring after a gestation period of about a month. Wrestling halfbeaks are sexually dimorphic.

Wikipedia contributors, Wrestling halfbeak; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:30:19.253346+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Dermogenys pusilla Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823

Name authority

Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Beloniformes

Family

Zenarchopteridae

Genus

Dermogenys

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderBeloniformes
11. familyZenarchopteridae Fowler, 1934
12. genusDermogenys Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823
13. speciesDermogenys pusilla Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Dermogenys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 56 records assigned to Zenarchopteridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. van Hasselt, J. C. (1823). Uittreksel uit een’ brief van den Heer J. C. van Hasselt, aan den Heer C. J. Temminck, geschreven uit Tjecande, Residentie Bantam, den 28sten December 1822. Algemeene Konst- En Letter-Bode Voor Het Jaar II Deel, (no. 35): 130–133. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34XG2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.