Ambastaia sidthimunki (Klausewitz, 1959)
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 dwarf loach, ladderback loach, pygmy loach, chain loach or chain botia (Ambastaia sidthimunki) is a freshwater fish belonging to the family Botiidae. Formerly included in the genus Yasuhikotakia, it is frequently seen in the aquarium trade, the product of captive breeding.
This endangered species is endemic to the Mae Klong basin (including Khwae Noi River) in Thailand, and the Ataran River on the Thai-Myanmar border. Records from the Mekong basin are misidentifications of the very similar and closely related A. nigrolineata.
Wikipedia contributors, Dwarf loach; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T18:58:57.925707+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ambastaia sidthimunki (Klausewitz, 1959)
- Name authority
- (Klausewitz, 1959)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Botiidae
- Genus
- Ambastaia
- 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
- orderCypriniformes
- familyBotiidae Berg, 1940
- subfamilyBotiinae Berg, 1940
- genusAmbastaia Kottelat, 2012
- speciesAmbastaia sidthimunki (Klausewitz, 1959)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ambastaia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ambastaia nigrolineata (Kottelat & Chu, 1987) | BotiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki (Klausewitz, 1959) (Klausewitz, 1959) | synonym |
| Botia sidthimunkii Klausewitz, 1959 Klausewitz, 1959 | synonym |
| Botia sidthimunki Klausewitz, 1959 Klausewitz, 1959 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1013887 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:5TZTH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.