Acanthocobitis botia

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	CYPRINIFORMES	BALITORIDAE

Scientific Name:

Acanthocobitis botia

Species Authority:

(Hamilton, 1822)

Common Name/s:

English

–

Mottled Loach, Sand Loach, Striped Loach

Synonym/s:

Botia nebulosa Blyth, 1860

Cobitis botia Hamilton, 1822

Nemacheilus botia (Hamilton, 1822)

Nemacheilus botia botia (Hamilton, 1822)

Nemachilus botia (Hamilton, 1822)

Nemachilus botius (Hamilton, 1822)

Nemachilus mackenziei Chaudhuri, 1910

Noemacheilus botia Menon, 1987

Taxonomic Notes:

This is most likely a species complex.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2009
Assessor/s:	Devi, R. & Boguskaya, N.
Reviewer/s:	Collen, B., Darwall, W., Ram, M. & Smith, K. (SRLI Freshwater Fish Evaluation Workshop)
Contributor/s:
Justification: A. botia has been assessed as Least Concern because, although there are reports of a large decline in suitable habitat in Pakistan, it is not thought that the resulting population decline would qualify for a Threatened or Near Threatened Category on a global scale.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	A. botia is found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand and China; the species is distributed from the Indus basin in Pakistan to the Mae Khlong basin in Thailand, through the Ganges, Chindwin, Irrawaddy, Sitang and Salween basins. It is also recorded from Yunnan and the Yangtze River basin in China (F. Fang, pers. comm.).
Countries:	Native: Bangladesh; Bhutan; China; India; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Thailand
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Detailed population information is lacking for this species however it is decreasing.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	A. botia is a demersal and omnivorous species, which inhabits swift flowing streams in hilly areas with clear water and rocky, pebbly and sandy bottoms. It lays about 100-150 eggs.
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In the hilly areas in Pakistan and India habitat quality is declining in as a result of deforestation, leading to siltation. Furthermore, drought has led to a loss of suitable habitat of between 21% and 50% in the past 30 years in Pakistan; the species is assessed as Near Threatened in Pakistan (CAMP workshop, Pakistan 2004). A. botia is still common and widespread in China (F. Fang, Pers. Comm.).

Major Threat(s):

In the hilly areas in Pakistan and India habitat quality is declining in as a result of deforestation, leading to siltation. Furthermore, drought has led to a loss of suitable habitat of between 21% and 50% in the past 30 years in Pakistan; the species is assessed as Near Threatened in Pakistan (CAMP workshop, Pakistan 2004).

A. botia is still common and widespread in China (F. Fang, Pers. Comm.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are no conservation measures currently in place.

Conservation Actions:

There are no conservation measures currently in place.

Citation:	Devi, R. & Boguskaya, N. 2009. Acanthocobitis botia. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 May 2013.
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