Macrognathus pentophthalmos (Gronow in Gray, 1854:172)
Sri Lankan spiny eel
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Mastacembelus pentophthalmos Gronow in Gray, 1854:172
Conservation Status
Last record: 1980's or later
Rediscovered in 2015 or before (Da Silva et al., 2015)
IUCN RedList status: Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct)
Only a single individual has recently been found next to a rice paddy (Da Silva et al., 2015), and the viability of the wild population is not yet demonstrated.
Distribution
Sri Lanka
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Gronow in: Gray, J. E. (1854). Catalogue of fish collected and described by Laurence Theodore Gronow, now in the British Museum, London. Trustees of the British Museum, London. vii + 196 pp.
Other references:
De Silva, M., Hapuarachchi, N. and Jayaratne, T. (2015). Sri Lankan Freshwater Fishes. Wildlife Conservation Society - Galle.
Fernado, M., Kotagama, O. & de Alwis Goonatilake, S. (2019). Macrognathus pentophthalmos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T196298A150839257. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T196298A150839257.en. Accessed on 13 November 2022.
Goonatilake, Sampath de Alwis. (2012). The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of the Freshwater Fishes in Sri Lanka, pp. 77-87. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka: Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. viii + 476 pp.
Pethiyagoda, Rohan, Silva, Anjana, Maduwage, Kalana and Kariyawasam. (2008). The Sri Lankan spiny eel, Macrognathus pentophthalmos (Teleostei: Mastacembelidae), and its enigmatic decline. Zootaxa 1931: 37-48. [Abstract]
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/131027/news/sri-lankas-spiny-eel-has-slipped-away-maybe-forever-67150.html