Evidence rule: Trade and color designations are not separate species or proven parent–offspring pedigrees. Exact claims must be checked against cited studies and tagged farm records.
Identity and classification
Species: Scleropages formosus. Record kind: Golden phenotype/market designation. Research grade: Directly sampled phenotype. This is not an independent species.
Geographic and historical origin
Commercially grouped with Malaysian golden forms, but individuals may derive from more than one commercial population.
Appearance and diagnostic issues
Highback describes upper scale-row golden extension as a grading convention, not a guaranteed single-locus condition.
Genetics and lineage evidence
The 2023 study included HG in the same five-phenotype comparative karyotype panel; repeated DNA features require wider sampling.
Sampling and scientific support
Directly sampled as Highback Golden (HG); one specimen's repeat DNA also analyzed. The 2023 direct comparison of five phenotypes found all sampled forms had 2n=50 chromosomes; it did not prove a unique strain-specific gene for any trade name.
Breeding and authentication
For a particular fish, require a PIT/microchip, lawful source documents, claimed breeder/farm, birth cohort, individual parent IDs or documented cross records where available. No advertised grade or photograph alone proves pedigree or genotype.
Care and conservation
As a large surface-oriented male mouthbrooder, Asian arowana needs species-appropriate secure housing and stable water; protected-wildlife trade and import requirements depend on jurisdiction. Do not solicit precise threatened wild collection sites.