Betta mahachaiensis Kowasupat, Panijpan, Ruenwongsa & Sriwattanarothai, 2012
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
Betta mahachaiensis is a species of bubble-nesting betta native to Thailand, where it occurs naturally near the Gulf of Thailand. It is typically seen in stagnant waters in swamps, pools, and ponds. The species can be found in brackish waters, with salinity levels between 1.1 and 10.6 parts per thousand. Betta mahachaiensis is capable of living in both fresh water and brackish water, a trait unique among fish in the genus Betta. This species grows to a length of 5 to 6 cm (2.0 to 2.4 in). It is found in the aquarium trade. Betta mahachaiensis was discovered in 2012 by a team of biologists from Thailand led by Dr. Bhinyo Panijpan's Mahidol University research group (with PhD candidate Mr. Chanon Kowasupat.). It was found in the province of Samut Sakhon in Thailand, and its specific name is a derivation of the well-known Thai name for the sub-district. It can be found also in western of Bangkok and small area in Samut Prakan province.
Wikipedia contributors, Betta mahachaiensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:10:42.162409+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Betta mahachaiensis Kowasupat, Panijpan, Ruenwongsa & Sriwattanarothai, 2012
- Name authority
- Kowasupat, Panijpan, Ruenwongsa & Sriwattanarothai, 2012
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Anabantiformes
- Family
- Osphronemidae
- Genus
- Betta
- 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
- genusBetta Bleeker, 1850
- speciesBetta mahachaiensis Kowasupat, Panijpan, Ruenwongsa & Sriwattanarothai, 2012
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Betta. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Betta enisae Kottelat, 1995 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta waseri Krummenacher, 1986 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta breviobesa Tan & Kottelat, 1998 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta pi Tan, 1998 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta nuluhon Kamal, Tan & Ng, 2020 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta omega Tan & Ahmad, 2018 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta albimarginata Kottelat & Ng, 1994 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta anabatoides Bleeker, 1851 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta apollon Schindler & Schmidt, 2006 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta aurigans Tan & Lim, 2004 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta bellica Sauvage, 1884 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Betta brownorum Witte & Schmidt, 1992 | OsphronemidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Kowasupat, C., Panijpan, B., Ruenwongsa, P., & Sriwattanarothai, N. (2012). Betta mahachaiensis, a new species of bubble-nesting fighting fish (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Samut Sakhon Province, Thailand. Zootaxa, 3522:49–3522:60. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3522.1.3 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:LNZW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.