Maurice Kottelat has described 2 more Bettas from Thailand/Cambodia to add to the increasing list of known anabantoids. Betta prima from SE Thailand and Cambodia is a member of the Betta pugnax group
which is characterised by:- 22-26 branched anal rays; head pattern
comprises a central stripe from chin to opercle, lower stripe from eye
to throat but missing from opercle; throat and opercle iridescent green
In large males; caudal rhomboid and pointed. Betta prima differs
in that the lower head stripe is complete and present on the opercle;
it is of a smaller size (40mm vs 60 mm SL) and mouthbroods at 21mm SL.
The median caudal is not obviously pointed and the posterior rays of
the anal and dorsal are not obviously elongated. Anal rays extend to
the anterior one-third of the caudal compared with at least mid-length
in males of other B.pugnax group
members. The fish is dark brown with blackish stripes and a dark green
iridescent throat. There is a narrow dark margin in the anal of the
males. Half of the B.pugnax described from Cambodia are B.prima.
It was found in Chantaburi province, Thailand in creeks and swamps and
from a stream in Trat province as well as the Tha Krabak waterfall in
Sa Kaeo province. In Cambodia it was found at Stung Tong Hong. Betta simplex is
pictured in Linke's Tetra book as 'spec. from Krabi' and was found NW
of Krabi spring and the small lake of Tham Sra Kaow and in 9 associated
ponds. It is a member of the B.picta group
which are characterised by: rounded unpaired fins; lower stripe on head
through the eye to the lower base of pectoral; anal rays I-III, 18-22;
presence of a broad dark margin along the anal and lower caudal. B.simplex differs in that it is more bulky, has a strongly projecting lower jaw. It differs fromB.taeniata (from Sarawak) by a smaller maximum size (60mm vs 80 mm) and in that it is sexually dimorphic. It differs from B.pictafrom
Java and Sumatra as the stripes are very faint in the male and the anal
and caudal stripes are black or dark blue compared with green or blue.
Its anal is rounded while that ofB.picta is
slightly pointed. It has a deeper body (29.3-32.2% SL vs 23.7-27.1%
SL). There are more scales in the transverse row (mode 11.5) compared
with 9.5. It also has a possibly smaller size at 60mm compared with 70
mm TL in B.picta. B.simplex is
a light reddish-brown with 3 faint stripes. The lower stripe becomes a
bar between the eye and throat and the throat and opercle are an
iridescent green. The anal fin has a narrow white distal margin and a
broad black sub distal band, bordered inward by a blue band. The female
is pictured in Linke. The body and head are a pale yellow brown with
stripes and a conspicuous black spot on the middle caudal base. It
was collected along the shores of a pool 10-15m in diameter and up to
10m deep in a karstic area with t 26.9°C, pH 7 and hardness 11°GH and
11°KH. Reference Kottelat,
M. 1994 Diagnoses of 2 new species of fighting fishes from Thailand and
Cambodia (Teleostei:Belontiidae). IEF 5, 297-304.