Conservation Actions

No conservation actions are in place for this species. Population and distribution research are needed to confirm its presence in Lao PDR and Cambodia, and its status in Thailand.

Location Information

Authentic and type specimens are known only from the Mae Khlong and Chao Phraya basins in Thailand. The species has been reported from the Mekong basin in Lao PDR and Cambodia, but no authentic specimens are known from these countries. This fish is considered endemic to Thailand, where it is now possibly extinct. Surveys throughout the whole of its range have been carried out for the past 15 years and have failed to find the species again (Ng and Kottelat 2007).

Geographic Range

Possibly Extinct

Thailand

Population Information

This species has not been seen alive either in the wild or in captivity, for over three decades; the last specimen was found in 1974. Repeated surveys over the past 15 years have failed to find the species. Population reduction is therefore estimated to be greater than 90% (Ng and Kottelat 2007).

Threats

Overfishing for the international aquarium trade severely depleted the populations of this species up until the 1980s, when it possibly became extinct in Thailand. Habitat degradation and loss of floodplains and mainstreams of the Chao Phraya and Mae Khlong basins due to changing infrastructure (dams, weirs and locks) are also significant threats to this species. This fish is suspected to be sensitive to deterioration in water quality, particularly from pollution caused by agro-chemicals, which are heavily used in Thailand.

IUCN Red List Account Link

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