Taxonomy

It can be distinguished from other species of the fighting fish coccina group by its unique reddish body colour pattern with, among other characteristics, a large lateral dark green/blue blotch in males and females.Members of the coccina group form a natural assemblage - a group of organisms that includes all descendants of a common ancestor - that is endemic to the peat swamp forests of south east Asia.Current research at the Museum is exploring the fish’s evolutionary history and looking at the historical and ecological factors that may have shaped its distribution.