The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Sandelia bainsii

 – Endangered

Taxonomy

Kingdom: ANIMALIA
Phylum: CHORDATA
Class: ACTINOPTERYGII
Order: PERCIFORMES
Family: ANABANTIDAE
Scientific Name: Sandelia bainsii
Species Authority: Castelnau, 1861
Common Name/s:
EnglishEASTERN CAPE ROCKY
Taxonomic Notes: Genetic work has shown that there are two management units, those in the Great Fish and Kowie Rivers and those in the Buffalo River area.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria: EN B1b(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii)    ver 3.1 (2001)
Year Assessed: 2007
Assessor/s: Cambray, J.
Evaluator/s: Tweddle, D., Bills, R. (Freshwater Fish Red List Authority) & Darwall, W. (Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Unit)
Justification: The Kowie River population is almost extirpated. Great Fish River populations are under threat from the alien invasive Clarias gariepinus which is spreading, small populations in the Gulu and Igoda Rivers are threatened by agriculture, and the population in Yellowwoods River of the Buffalo River system is threatened by interbasin transfer bringing alien invasives. The Nahoon River population is almost extirpated. The population is severely fragmented (subpopulations occur at Kowie, Koonap, Kat (Great Fish), Tyume (Keiskamma), Igoda, Gulu, Yellowwoods (Buffalo), and Nahoon). Extent of occurrence (EOO) is less than 5,000 km², and area of occupancy (AOO) has been reduced (e.g., in Kowie the area occupied by the species may be less than 1 km² (based on 1 km grid overlay and current quality of habitat). Only two viable subpopulations exist: Kat and Yellowwoods. The other subpopulations are not viable for the long term. The population is therefore considered to be severely fragmented (more than 50% of locations are probably non-viable at present). Only five locations remain, thus the species qualifies for Endangered under criterion B.
History:
1988-Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1990-Vulnerable (IUCN 1990)
1994-Endangered (Groombridge 1994)
1996-Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description: Nahoon, Buffalo, Igoda, Gulu,Keiskamma, Great Fish, Kowie Rivers all in the Eastern Cape South Africa.
Range Map:
(click for detailed map)
Countries: Native:

South Africa (Eastern Cape Province)

Population

Population: Not known but decreasing and almost extirpated in the Kowie and Nahoon Rivers. Estimated numbers in the Gulu and Igoda Rivers less than 100 mature fish.
Population Trend: Down

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology: Occurs in rocky streams, favouring marginal habitats where the current is slow (Skelton 2001). A predator on insects, crabs and small fish, it holes up in crevices and waits for prey to pass by. Breeds in summer, males make a nest and after spawning guard the developing eggs and young fish.
System: Freshwater

Threats

Threats: Introduced fish such as largemouth and smallmouth bass and the sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Water abstraction, interbasin transfers and siltation and water pollution.

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions: Educational resources have been developed and distributed. A barrier is needed to bass movement in Yellowwoods river. A captive breeding programme is also needed and possibly benign introductions if viable habitats are identified within the original catchments.

Citation: Cambray, J. 2007. Sandelia bainsii. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 August 2008.
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