Lates microlepis

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	LATIDAE

Scientific Name:	Lates microlepis
Species Authority:	(Boulenger, 1898)
Common Name/s: English – Forktail Lates

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Endangered   A2bcd   ver 3.1
Year Published:	2006
Assessor/s:	Ntakimazi, G.
Reviewer/s:	Snoeks, J. (Freshwater Fish Red List Authority) & Darwall, W. (Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme)
Justification: Endemic to Lake Tanganyika where fisheries catches have declined for more than 50% in the last 20 years due to heavy fishing which is likely to continue. With an estimated generation time of 4.5–14 years, the time period of 20 years can be considered roughly equivalent to three generations. Sedimentation inshore is also a threat to habitat quality for juveniles.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Endemic to Lake Tanganyika. Juveniles enter the deltas of major rivers including the Rusizi and Malagarasi.
Countries:	Native: Burundi; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Tanzania, United Republic of; Zambia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Common, but fisheries catches have declined dramatically in the last 15 years.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Adults strictly pelagic. Juveniles found in lake's littoral zone among marginal macrophyte beds and river deltas. Piscivorous.
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

Heavy fishing in pelagic and littoral zones.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

None known.

Bibliography [top]

IUCN. 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 04 May 2006.