| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | ACTINOPTERYGII | CYPRINIFORMES | CYPRINIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Barbus litamba |
| Species Authority: | Keilhack, 1908 |
| Taxonomic Notes: | The genus Barbus (Cyprinidae) is restricted to a small number of species mainly inhabiting the European ichthyographic region including Northeast Africa. Most of the African species that are currently included in the genus, taxonomically do not appear to be closely related to the genus Barbus sensu strictu. However, no attempts have yet been made at an adequate nomenclature of the African forms. We therefore follow Berrebi et al. (1996) and use in this paper the term ‘Barbus’ for the cyprinid fish species which were previously considered as Barbus (Seegers et al., unpublished). |
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 |
| Year Assessed: | 2006 |
| Assessor/s | Vreven, E. & Kazembe, J. |
| Evaluator/s: | Snoeks, J. (Freshwater Fish Red List Authority) & Darwall, W. (Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme) |
|
Justification: Widespread throughout the Lake Malawi catchment with no major widespread threats identified. |
|
| Range Description: | Endemic to Lake Malawi basin (Banister and Clarck 1980). |
| Countries: |
Native:
Malawi; Mozambique; Tanzania, United Republic of
|
| Population: | Not uncommon but of insufficient abundance to be of economic importance (Jackson 1961). |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
|
| Habitat and Ecology: | Within the lake, adults form shoals in open waters, moving about in search of food (Banister and Clarke 1980). Young fishes concentrate over sandy areas (Banister and Clarke 1980). Barbus litamba is a predatory, fish-eating minnow . It feeds on insects in addition to fishes (see Jackson 1961, Konings 1990). It can be found all round the lake though seldom very far from shore as well as in the lower reaches of rivers (Jackson 1961). Large recorded length is 44 cm, usually smaller (Jackson 1961). It is presumed to migrate up feeder streams to spawn (Banister and Clarke 1980). |
| Systems: | Freshwater |
| Major Threat(s): | Possibly Over-fishing. |
| Conservation Actions: | Unknown. |
| Citation: | Vreven, E. & Kazembe, J. 2006. Barbus litamba. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010. |
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