Prior to its description P. kamalika was referred to as P. amphibius, a putatively valid species probably restricted to western India.

It differs from all congeners in the following combination of characters: 4½/1/2½ scales in a transverse line between the mid-dorsal…

Endemic to Sri Lanka with type locality ‘shaded pools of mountain streams at Akuressa, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, elevation 500 meters’.

It’s known from at least five localities, all of which are located in restricted to Sri Lanka’s ‘wet zone’ in the southwest of the island, with records exis…

These are still regarded as valid by some authorities although it’s widely accepted that they represent variants of R. vaterifloris due to a lack of type material hindering conclusive study. Rasboroides nigromarginata (Meinken, 1956) has also been used to refer to a reddish form in which males differ from other populations in possessing dark fin margins, but the name is currently considered synonymous with R. vaterifloris by most sources despite the fish being rediscovered in 2010.

For many years this species was considered to occur in two colour forms with yellow or red dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins, respectively, but the red-finned variant has now been elevated to full species status as P. reval (Meegaskumbura et al. 2008). The latter is a smaller fish with a maximum SL of 33.6 mm recorded to date.

As well as the obvious differences in body size and fin colour P. cumingii can be told apart from P. reval by the following…

This species is euryhaline and mostly inhabits brackish estuaries, coastal lagoons and the lower reaches of rivers.

It also occurs in freshwater habitats, however, including a number of inland lakes in Sri Lanka although it appears to have been introduced intentionally.

Endemic to southwestern Sri Lanka where it appears restricted to the so-called ‘wet zone’ (see ‘Habitat’).

Confirmed localities are all within the Bentota and Kelani river systems and Kottawa Forest Reserve in Galle district, Southern Province.

Type locality is given simply as ‘Habitat in India orientale’ and this appears to have caused confusion regarding the species’ distribution with it of…

This species is also referred to as ‘Kretser’s paradisefish’ and ‘spotted gourami’.

There exist three colour forms, two of which exhibit a greater degree of reddish or violet pigmentation in the fins, respectively. The third is more bluish and was described as M. kretseri minor by Deraniyagala (1958).