Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 21, 2026

Ambassis

Ambassis is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Ambassidae, the Asiatic glassfishes. They are found widely in the Indo-Pacific region, with species in fresh, brackish and coastal marine waters.

Last revised
Jun 21, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
303 w
Citations
3
Source
Ambassis
Ambassis miops
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Mugiliformes
Family: Ambassidae
Genus: Ambassis
G. Cuvier, 1828
Type species
Centropomus ambassis
Lacepède, 1802
Synonyms
  • Konopickia Whitley, 1937
  • Priopidichthys Whitley, 1935
  • Priopis Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1830

Ambassis is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Ambassidae, the Asiatic glassfishes. They are found widely in the Indo-Pacific region, with species in fresh, brackish and coastal marine waters.

This genus includes fish known commonly as glassies, perchlets, and common glassfishes.1 The genus name was derived from the Greek anabasis, meaning 'climbing up'.2

Species

There are currently 19 recognized species in this genus:3

  • Ambassis ambassis (Lacépède, 1802) – Commerson's glassy
  • Ambassis bleekeri Maugé, 1984
  • Ambassis buruensis Bleeker, 1856 – Buru glass perchlet
  • Ambassis buton Popta, 1918 – Buton glassy perchlet
  • Ambassis denticulata Klunzinger, 1870
  • Ambassis dussumieri G. Cuvier, 1828 – Malabar glassy perchlet
  • Ambassis fontoynonti Pellegrin, 1932 – dusky glass perch
  • Ambassis interrupta Bleeker, 1853 – long-spined glass perchlet
  • Ambassis kopsii Bleeker, 1858 – freckled hawkfish
  • Ambassis macracanthus Bleeker, 1849 – estuarine glass perchlet
  • Ambassis marianus Günther, 1880 – estuary perchlet
  • Ambassis miops Günther, 1872 – flag-tailed glass perchlet
  • Ambassis nalua (F. Hamilton, 1822) – scalloped perchlet
  • Ambassis natalensis Gilchrist & W. W. Thompson, 1908 – slender glassy
  • Ambassis octava Ghazali, Lavoué, Nor, Muhammad-Rasul & Tan, 2023
  • Ambassis telkara Whitley, 1935
  • Ambassis thermalis Cuvier, 1829
  • Ambassis urotaenia Bleeker, 1852 – banded-tail glassy perchlet
  • Ambassis vachellii J. Richardson, 1846 – Vachelli's glass perchlet
Synonyms
  • Ambassis commersonii (Lacépède, 1802) valid as A. ambassis
  • Ambassis gymnocephalus (Lacépède, 1802) valid as A. ambassis (bald glassy)
References

References

  1. "Ambassis". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  2. Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. Ambassis agassizii. FishBase. 2014.
  3. Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Ambassis". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 23 July 2025.