Ok, today we are going to start something new. We are going to climb up into the tree of life and pick a random branch to look at. Basically my plan is to find a species (feel free to give me recommendations) learn a little bit about it to teach you, and draw or paint it. I need to preface with I am not the professional quality artist that many MAL contributors are, so we might just end up with a running Show Us Your Ugly Things Post.
For my first entry the internet landed me on the climbing perch.
The climbing perch, Anabas testudineus, is a fish native to India and China; but which has established populations in several Asia Pacific countries. While it appears that the climbing perch is actually a species complex, which means it is actually several species that just closely resemble each other, I am treating it with the current single species name here.
The climbing perch is named for their ability to climb out of water and cross small segments of dry land in search of new territory. They are a member of a group called labyrinth fishes that have a structure (The Labyrinth Structure) in their head which allows them to breathe atmospheric oxygen by holding air in a cranial chamber where it diffuses into the blood stream.
Climbing perch are also used as an important food source in parts of Asia including India and Thailand, where its ability to live out of water extends the amount of time it can be kept fresh.
Classification
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordata
Class – Actinopterygii
Order – Perciformes
Family – Anabantidae
Genus – Anadas
Species – Anabas testudineus
