Conservation Actions

No conservation actions are in place. Surveys are needed to ascertain the species' exact distribution.

Location Information

The species is known only from a short section (c.2 km long) of a small tributary of the upper Nam Phao, a tributary of the Nam Theun, in the Mekong drainage in Lao PDR (Bolikamsai Province), almost on the border with Viet Nam. It might be present elsewhere in adjacent streams, but survey has not yet been possible.

Geographic Range

Extant

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Population Information

No information available.

Threats

The species is presently known only from a very short stretch of a branch of the upper Nam Phao, about 2 km long. This stretch is along the road leading to the border, which is now crowded by shops and other businesses, and domestic waste enters into the stream. Adjacent streams could not yet be surveyed. Below this point, the stream joins with the Nam Phao which is totally filled with sediments resulting from the construction of a small hydropower reservoir. The recent maintenance of the road going to Vietnam, along the river, also resulted in huge quantities of material being pushed into the river. The river is filled with sediment almost until its confluence with the Nam Theun. In addition the lower Nam Phao receives wastes from Laksao and pollution from a gold mine on one of its tributaries. As the species grazes algae on the rocks, once the rocks are covered by sediment the food disappears.

IUCN Red List Account Link

Please click here to see the species' IUCN Red List Account page.