|Scientific Name:||Botia rostrata|
|Species Authority:||Günther, 1868|
|Taxonomic Notes:||Botia rostrata which was earlier considered a junior synonym of B. almorhae has been treated valid by Ng (2007) thereby replacing the so far known B. almorhae from the Brahmaputra basin.|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Vulnerable A2cd ver 3.1|
|Reviewer/s:||Rema Devi, K.R., Arunachalam, M., Dahanukar, N., Vishwanath, W., Daniel, B.A. & Molur, S.|
Botia rostrata is widespread in the hillstreams across its range but faces threats such from destructive fishing practices and from the ornamental trade and habitat destruction due to sand and boulder mining. Population estimates in Arunachal Pradesh records a decline of more than 60% in five years (Tamang et al. 2007). Extrapolating this information for rest of the range areas where the threats are similar, it is inferred that the species may have undergone more than 30% decline in its entire population. It is therefore assessed as Vulnerable. If records from the Irrawaddy and Salween basins in southern China are confirmed (and found in Myanmar) , the species should most likley be assessed as Least Concern, unless there is supporting evidence of population declines in these areas as well.
|Range Description:||The species is recorded from the Brahmaputra basin in India (Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, northern West Bengal, Nagaland, Tripura, and is likely to be present in other northeastern Indian states) and Bangladesh.
The species also recorded from the Salween and Irrawaddy basins in China (Ximeng and Yunnan; Froaese and Pauly 2010; Kottelat 1989; http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-rostrata), though these records require confirmation. If the Chinese records are confirmed it should be looked for in Bhutan, and in parts of the Salween and Irrawaddy in Myanmar.
Native:Bangladesh; China (Yunnan); India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Darjiling, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura)
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||Population estimates of this species were carried out in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Catch frequency of Botia rostrata was 60% during 2004 (Tamang et al. 2007) but during 2009 it came down to 20% probably because it is a much sought after species firstly due to its good taste and secondly due to its ornamental value (S. Chaudhry pers. obs., 2010).|
|Habitat and Ecology:||
This species is reported to live in medium to fast current waters.
|Major Threat(s):||The main threats facing this species is sand and boulder mining which destroys its habitat. Other major threat is destructive fishing practices of electrocution and poisoning (Tamang et al. 2007)|
|Conservation Actions:||Impact of threats on the species distribution and population requires detailed studies.|
|Citation:||Chaudhry, S. 2010. Botia rostrata. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.|
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