FRESH-WATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR THAILAND 35 



fundamental part of the name is suggested by the frequency with 

 which, among certain people in certain districts or for certain species, 

 it is omitted without causing any misunderstanding or confusion as 

 to the fish in question. Among the common fish names having this 

 initial syllable ha there may be mentioned pla kaben (a ray) , pla kabok 

 (a mullet), pla kadi (an anabantid), 'pla kahae^ pla kamang^ fla 

 kamao^ pla kasup (cyprinoids), pla kapong (a bass), pla kasong (a 

 serpenthead) , pla kathing (a spiny-eel) , and pla katung (a gar) . The 

 shortened forms pla sup, pla mang, pla thing, etc., are often heard. 

 It may be noted that the prefix ka is not restricted to fishes but is a 

 part of the vernacular names of other animals {karok, squirrel, katai, 

 rabbit, etc. ) . 



USE OF FRESH-WATER FISHES IN CONTESTS 



The Thai people share with the people of other nationalities a keen 

 interest in and love for contests of skill, fleetness, and endurance among 

 the lower animals, whether racing horses, racing dogs, fighting cocks, 

 jumping frogs, fighting crickets, or fighting and wrestling fishes. 



The idea of using fishes in matched contests seems to have originated 

 among the Thai, and Thailand is the only country in which fish- 

 fighting may be considered a national sport. 



The fishes that in Thailand have for many years been employed as 

 combatants are a cyprinodont {Aplocheilus panchax), two anabantids 

 {Betta splendens and Trichopsis vittatus), and a hemiramph {Der- 

 mogenys piosillus) . Two of these have long been cultivated, and their 

 fighting stamina has been greatly improved by cultivation. In the 

 case of all these species, only the adult males are employed. 



The pugnacious disposition of the little halfbeak Dermogenys is 

 manifested in an entirely different manner from that of Betta. The 

 exhibition of strength and endurance, on which the encounters are 

 decided, can best be described as wrestling; and as the fish had no 

 distinctive English name I ventured in 1923 to suggest that it be 

 called wrestlingfish, a designation that has since been generally used. 

 The Thai name, pla khem, or needlefish, in allusion to the long sharp 

 lower jaw, is applied to various other half beaks, which, as far as known, 

 do not engage in combats. 



ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF THE FRESH-WATER FISHES 



While the coastal waters of Thailand abound with fishes that support 

 an important industry, yielding large quantities of food for local con- 

 sumption and export, the fresh-water streams, canals, and lakes also 

 have extensive fisheries, and the fishes of the fresh waters are, in cer- 

 tain respects, of greater importance to the general welfare because they 



