labyrinth fish

plural labyrinth fishes

1. biologyAny fish that has a labyrinth organ, a fish of the suborder Anabantoidei, an anabantoid.

   Labyrinth fish are nest builders, and the males maintain the nest and incubate the eggs.

   2010, Beth Vanhorn, Robert W. Clark, Veterinary Assisting Fundamentals & Applications, page 2017

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   Labyrinth fish have another peculiarity, in that all the internal organs are compressed into the front part of the body, so that the rear of the body contains only the spine and muscles.[…]Labyrinth fish are nearly all predatory, and many are unsuitable for the community tank.

   1995, Brian Ward, The Aquarium Fish Survival Manual, page 114

   Labyrinth fish belong to different but related families of fish; they live in southwestern Africa and throughout much of southern and eastern Asia.

   2001, Marshall Cavendish Corporation, Aquatic Life of the World, volume 5, page 288

   Labyrinth fishes (Anabantoidei) are grouped into three families (Osphronemidae, Helostomatidae, and Anabantidae) within the teleost Order Perciformes.[…]Labyrinth fishes form a natural (monophyletic) group of teleost fishes, the Suborder Anabantoidei.

   2009, S. Blair Hedges, Sudhir Kumar, editors, The Timetree of Life, page 344

   Synonyms: anabantoid