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Organism
(ORGA)
last updated: 09 Sep 2026
Epalzeorhynchos frenatum
| Realm | Eukarya |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Cypriniformes |
| Family | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily | Labeoninae |
| Genus | Epalzeorhynchos |
| Species | Epalzeorhynchos frenatum |
- Epalzeorhynchos frenatus Fowler, 1937
- Epalzeorhynchos frenatum rar
- Labeo frenatus
- Labeo frenatus Fowler, 1934
- Labeo erythrurus
- Labeo erythrurus Fowler, 1937
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Rainbow sharkEN
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Rainbow sharkminnowEN
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Red-fin sharkEN
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Ruby SharkEN
Fish
Domesticated
Epalzeorhynchos frenatum is native to mainland Southeast Asia, with its natural range centred in the Mekong river basin in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, Chao Phraya and Mae Klong river basins in Thailand, and Xe Bangfai river in Laos (and Bangladesh). These lowland river systems in Indochina, where the species occurs in a range of connected tributaries and floodplain habitats, are considered its centre of origin.
Genetic diversity is likely concentrated across the native Mekong, Chao Phraya, Mae Klong drainage complex, where multiple sub-populations may persist in different rivers, tributaries and floodplain habitats.
E. frenatum occurs in conditions in its native lowland rivers. The species is a subtropical/tropical freshwater cyprinid that inhabits rivers and streams with sandy or hard substrates, occupying mid-water to benthic zones near the bottom (pH 6.5-8.0, temperature 20-26 °C, moderate hardness). The species occurs in main channels and tributaries and undertakes seasonal migrations into flooded plains during the wet season, returning to river channels as waters recede.
The rainbow shark is naturally distributed in Southeast Asia, occurring in the Mekong basin (including parts of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam), the Chao Phraya drainage in central Thailand, the Xe Bangfai system in Laos and the Mae Klong basin in western Thailand. It is also globally distributed in captivity through the ornamental fish trade, including both wild-type and selectively bred domestic forms.
EN
- Ornamental
- E. frenatum is an omnivorous, benthopelagic cyprinid that grazes on algae, periphyton and small invertebrates as well as detritus.
- The species serves as the wild-type background for transgenic GloFish® Cory lines marketed in orange and yellow fluorescent colors.
- NCBI Taxonomy: Epalzeorhynchos frenatum (ID 2848748) [URL] [ English ]
- UniProt Taxonomy: Epalzeorhynchos frenatum (ID 2848748) [URL] [ English ]
- Hydroécologie Appliquée (Paris) (2016) The fishes of the Nam Theun and Xe Bangfai drainages, Laos [PDF].pdf [ English ]
- Fishbase: Epalzeorhynchos Frenatum [URL] [ English ]
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Epalzeorhynchos frenatum [PDF] [ English ]
- British Museum of Natural History Collection specimens (2014): Epalzeorhynchos frenatum Fowler, 1934 [BMNH:2000.6.10.2687] [DOI] [ English ]
- British Museum of Natural History Collection specimens (2014): Epalzeorhynchos frenatum Fowler, 1934 [BMNH:2000.6.10.2687] [URL] [ English ]
- Canadian Journal of Zoology (2018). Cold temperature tolerance of albino rainbow shark (Epalzeorhynchos frenatum), a tropical fish with transgenic application in the ornamental aquarium trade [PDF] [ English ]
