Malpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ornate paradisefish (Malpulutta kretseri) or spotted gourami, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the only recognized species in its genus.
It inhabits shallow, slow-flowing streams in forested areas shaded with plentiful vegetation near the edges and a substrate covered by leaf litter. It is a carnivore, preying on plankton, fish fry, and the larvae of insects. They can reach a length of 4 cm (1.6 in), though most are only around 2 cm (0.79 in). This species can also occasionally be found in the aquarium trade, where it is reportedly exceedingly shy. The specific name of this fish honours the Sri Lankan lawyer and judge Oswald Leslie De Kretser II.
Wikipedia contributors, Ornate paradisefish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:07:34.362370+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Malpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937
- Name authority
- Deraniyagala, 1937
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anabantiformes
- Family
- Osphronemidae
- Genus
- Malpulutta
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderAnabantiformes
- suborderAnabantoidei
- familyOsphronemidae van der Hoeven, 1832
- subfamilyMacropodusinae Hoedeman, 1948
- genusMalpulutta Deraniyagala, 1937
- speciesMalpulutta kretseri Deraniyagala, 1937
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Deraniyagala, P. E. P. (1937). Malpulutta kretseri--a new genus and species of fish from Ceylon. The Ceylon Journal of Science, Section B. Zoology and Geology, 20 (pt 3): 351–353. 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:3XQPX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.