Kind of Arowana

Super red arowana

Several distinct, naturally occurring colour varieties are recognized, each found in a specific geographic region. They include the following:

• The green is the most common variety, found in Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia.

• The silver Asian (not to be confused with the silver arowana, Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) is considered part of the green variety by some. It has two subvarieties, the "grey tail silver" or "Pinoh arowana," and the "yellow tail silver," each found in a different part of the island of Borneo in Indonesia.

• The red-tailed golden is found in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

• The gold crossback, blue Malayan, or Bukit Merah blue is native to the state of Pahang and Bukit Merah area in Perak, Malaysia.

• The red, super red, blood red, or chili red is known only from the upper part of the Kapuas River in western Borneo, Indonesia.

In 2003, a study was published which proposed breaking S. formosus into four separate species. This classification was based on both morphology and genetics, and includes the following species:

• Scleropages formosus was redescribed to include the strain known as the green arowana. The gold crossback, which was not part of the study, was included in this species by default.

• Scleropages macrocephalus described the silver Asian arowana.

• Scleropages aureus described the red-tailed golden arowana.

• Scleropages legendrei described the super red arowana.

Other researchers dispute this reclassification, arguing that the published data are insufficient to justify recognizing more than one Southeast Asian species of Scleropages.