Macrognathus aral

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	SYNBRANCHIFORMES	MASTACEMBELIDAE

Scientific Name:

Macrognathus aral

Species Authority:

(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Spiny Eel

Synonym/s:

Rhynchodella aral Bloch and Schneider, 1801

Taxonomic Notes:

Bloch and Schneider (1801) described Rhynchodella aral from Tranquebar. Roberts (1986) treated it under the genus Macrognathus. The species called aral in Sri Lanka is a separate species, M. pentophthalmos.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2010

Assessor/s:

Vishwanath, W.

Reviewer/s:

Chaudhry, S., Britz, R., Allen, D. & Dey, S.C.

Contributor/s:

Molur, S.

Justification:

Macrognathus aral is considered to be Least Concern since it is very widely distributed and with limited threats. The species was earlier (1996, 1994) assessed, and the category changes from those assessments are due to new information.

History:

1996	–	Data Deficient
1994	–	Endangered (Groombridge 1994)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Macrognathus aral is widely distributed throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Present in most of the Ganges drainage, but scarcer in numbers in Nepal.
Countries:	Native: Bangladesh; India; Nepal; Pakistan

Population [top]

Population:	No information available. The species is present in a number of drainages.
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	M. aral occurs in running and stagnant waters. Found in fresh and brackish waters and deltas of large rivers, common in ponds and slow flowing rivers with vegetation in plains. Inhabits still waters with silt or mud substrate. Believed to be common in rice paddy fields. Nocturnal feeder, on insects and worms.in lowland habitats and at moderate elevation in all the larger river systems of the Indian subcontinent.
Systems:	Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

M. aral occurs in running and stagnant waters. Found in fresh and brackish waters and deltas of large rivers, common in ponds and slow flowing rivers with vegetation in plains. Inhabits still waters with silt or mud substrate. Believed to be common in rice paddy fields. Nocturnal feeder, on insects and worms.in lowland habitats and at moderate elevation in all the larger river systems of the Indian subcontinent.

Systems:

Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are unlikely to be wide-ranging threats that impact the entire population.

Major Threat(s):

There are unlikely to be wide-ranging threats that impact the entire population.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Further studies on biology and threats are needed.

Conservation Actions:

Further studies on biology and threats are needed.

Citation:	Vishwanath, W. 2010. Macrognathus aral. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 February 2012.
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