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Mastacembelus armatus

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA ACTINOPTERYGII SYNBRANCHIFORMES MASTACEMBELIDAE

Scientific Name: Mastacembelus armatus
Species Authority: (Lacepède, 1800)
Common Name/s:
English – Spiny eel
Taxonomic Notes: Mastacembelus armatus is probably a species complex and further taxonomic work is required to clarify the taxonomy.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2010
Assessor/s: Rayamajhi, A., Jha, B.R. & Sharma, C.
Reviewer/s: Allen, D., Britz, R. & Vishwanath, W.
Contributor/s: Molur, S.
Justification:

A widespread species with no known major widespread threats, Mastacembelus armatus is assessed as Least Concern.   

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Fresh and brackish waters in Bangladesh; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; Myanmar; Nepal; Thailand; Cambodia; Vietnam, and northeastern India; found in the Hoogly and Bhagirathi River systems in West Bengal; the Lohit district Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh: (Dehra Dun, Tehri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Nainital, Almora, Pithoragarh). It is likely present in other northeast Indian states.

In Nepal, the distribution of Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede) is documented by Jha et al. (2006). Its occurrence was reported in seven rivers including Aandhikhola, Arungkhola, Karrakhola, Narayani, East Seti and Tinau river from central and western region of Nepal. The six rivers, Aandhikhola, Arungkhola, Karrakhola, Narayani East and Seti are the members of GandakiRiver system. Tinau is an independent system. Aandhikhola accounted for the highest abundance of Mastacembelus armatus among the rivers sampled.
Countries:
Native:
Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; India (Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkand, Uttaranchal, West Bengal); Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: In Nepal, the species is found commonly at quite high altitudes in river Tawi (Jammu) and its tributaries. Seasonal availability of some important fishes in some rivers of Nepal could be found mentioned in the literature, but a detailed seasonality of the species is lacking.
Population Trend: Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: Inhabits fresh waters in plains and hills.
Systems: Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

No information available on threats to this species. It is caught by local level fisheries.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

More information is required on the species population and distribution.
Citation: Rayamajhi, A., Jha, B.R. & Sharma, C. 2010. Mastacembelus armatus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 25 May 2013.
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