Oxygaster pointoni

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	CYPRINIDAE

Scientific Name:	Oxygaster pointoni
Species Authority:	(Fowler, 1934)
Synonym/s:	Chela pointoni Fowler, 1934

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable A2ce ver 3.1
Year Published:	2009
Assessor/s:	Jenkins, A., Kullander, F.F. & Tan, H.H.
Reviewer/s:	Collen, B., Darwall, W., Ram, M. & Smith, K. (SRLI Freshwater Fish Evaluation Workshop)
Contributor/s:
Justification: O. pointoni has been assessed as Vulnerable due to an inferred population decrease of more than 30% in the past ten years, caused by habitat degradation, as a result of dams and other water management projects, and high levels of pollution within it's range.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	O. pointoni is found in the Mekong and Chao Phraya basins in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Thailand.
Countries:	Native: Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Thailand
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	The population is thought to be decreasing at a rate of more than 30% over the previous ten years, although detailed numbers are not known.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	O. pointoni is a pelagic species which occurs at the surface in medium-sized rivers.
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The waters of the Chao Phraya basin, particularly the rivers of the lower basin, is heavily polluted; a UNESCO report (2006) states that 'the Chao Phraya River exhibited serious organic and bacterial pollution that was a threat to many species of aquatic life.' There are also reports of pollution in the Mekong River basin. There are a number of large dams and other water diversion projects within the range of this species, which are an additional threat to O. pointoni in both the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins; effects of developments such as these to the freshwater ecosystem include alterations to the hydrological cycle, and changes to the levels of sedimentation and dissolved O². More dams are currently under construction and planned for the future. Water from both the Chao Phraya and Mekong Rivers is used for agricultural irrigation and to supply urbanised areas, causing further disruption to the natural hydrological cycle.

Major Threat(s):

The waters of the Chao Phraya basin, particularly the rivers of the lower basin, is heavily polluted; a UNESCO report (2006) states that 'the Chao Phraya River exhibited serious organic and bacterial pollution that was a threat to many species of aquatic life.' There are also reports of pollution in the Mekong River basin.

There are a number of large dams and other water diversion projects within the range of this species, which are an additional threat to O. pointoni in both the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins; effects of developments such as these to the freshwater ecosystem include alterations to the hydrological cycle, and changes to the levels of sedimentation and dissolved O². More dams are currently under construction and planned for the future.

Water from both the Chao Phraya and Mekong Rivers is used for agricultural irrigation and to supply urbanised areas, causing further disruption to the natural hydrological cycle.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	There are no conservation measures currently known to be in action at habitat or species level.

Conservation Actions:

There are no conservation measures currently known to be in action at habitat or species level.

Citation:	Jenkins, A., Kullander, F.F. & Tan, H.H. 2009. Oxygaster pointoni. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.
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