Microctenopoma ansorgii (Boulenger, 1912)
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
Microctenopoma ansorgii is a small freshwater fish, known in the aquarium trade as the ornate ctenopoma, orange ctenopoma, ornate climbing perch, pretty ctenopoma, or rainbow ctenopoma. It is related to the more familiar spotted climbing perch (Ctenopoma acutirostre), but looks very different. Its body is more elongated and rounded, with fins with red and black stripes; the color intensifies when the fish are displaying, with black bars becoming visible on the body. The ornate ctenopoma spawns at night, laying its eggs on a floating bubble nest like its relatives in the osphronemidae. It lives in the slow-flowing forest streams of the Congo Basin, where it feeds on worms, insect larvae, and other aquatic invertebrates. It is the most common member of its genus in the aquarium trade, where it is known for being a shy, easily bullied fish that needs live or frozen foods and which benefits from the presence of smaller dither fish to encourage it to come out of hiding.
Wikipedia contributors, Microctenopoma ansorgii; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:11:42.438447+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Microctenopoma ansorgii (Boulenger, 1912)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1912)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anabantiformes
- Family
- Anabantidae
- Genus
- Microctenopoma
- 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
- familyAnabantidae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusMicroctenopoma Norris, 1995
- speciesMicroctenopoma ansorgii (Boulenger, 1912)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Microctenopoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Microctenopoma uelense Norris & Douglas, 1995 | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma ocellifer (Nichols, 1928) | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma nanum (Günther, 1896) | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma pekkolai (Rendahl, 1935) | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma nigricans Norris, 1995 | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma milleri (Norris & Douglas, 1991) | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma intermedium (Pellegrin, 1920) | AnabantidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Microctenopoma stevenorrisi Skelton, Stauffer, Chakona & Wisor, 2021 | AnabantidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Ctenopoma ansorgei (Boulenger, 1912) (Boulenger, 1912) | synonym |
| Ctenopoma davidae (Poll, 1939) (Poll, 1939) | synonym |
| Anabas davidae Poll, 1939 Poll, 1939 | synonym |
| Ctenopoma ansorgii (Boulenger, 1912) (Boulenger, 1912) | synonym |
| Anabas ansorgei Boulenger, 1912 Boulenger, 1912 | synonym |
| Anabas ansorgii Boulenger, 1912 Boulenger, 1912 | synonym |
| Microctenopoma ansorgei (Boulenger, 1912) (Boulenger, 1912) | 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=1014955 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:6RHNN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.