







| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | ACTINOPTERYGII | SYNBRANCHIFORMES | MASTACEMBELIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Mastacembelus platysoma |
| Species Authority: | Poll & Matthes, 1962 |
| Taxonomic Notes: | Vreven (accepted) placed the African genera Caecomastacembelus and Aethiomastacembelus in synonymy with Mastacembelus. |
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 |
| Year Assessed: | 2006 |
| Assessor/s: | Bigirimana, C. & Vreven, E. |
| Reviewer/s: | Snoeks, J. (Freshwater Fish Red List Authority) & Darwall, W. (Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme) |
|
Justification: Endemic to Lake Tanganyika where it is widespread with no known major widespread threats. |
|
| Range Description: | Endemic to Lake Tanganyika. |
| Countries: |
Native:
Burundi; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Tanzania, United Republic of; Zambia
|
| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
|
| Population: | According to Poll and Matthes (1962) and Brichard (1989) M. platysoma is a very rare species. Brichard (1978) mentioned it to be present without being common at Cap Chipimbi (Zambia). |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
|
| Habitat and Ecology: | Inhabits coastal regions with a rocky bottom to a depth of 30 m (Ave 1998, Brichard 1989, Eccles 1992, Coulter 1991). Its diet consists mainly of microorganisms and probably fish fry. Also feeds on small shrimp (Poll and Matthes 1962). Max. size 15 cm. |
| Systems: | Freshwater |
| Major Threat(s): | Water pollution, habitat deterioration, and over-exploitation. |
| Conservation Actions: | None known. |
|
Brichard, P. 1989. Pierre Brichard's Book of Cichlids and All the Other Fishes of Lake Tanganyika. THF Publications Inc., Neptune, United States. Daget, J., Gosse, J.-P. and Thys van den Audenaerde, D.F.E. (eds). 1986. Check-list of the Freshwater Fishes of Africa (CLOFFA II) ISNB, Brussels and MRAC, Tervuren, Belgium, and ORSTOM, Paris, France. IUCN. 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 May 2006. |
| Citation: | Bigirimana, C. & Vreven, E. 2006. Mastacembelus platysoma. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2012. |
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