Threatened fishes of the world: Luciobrama macrocephalus (cyprinidae)

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Keywords Luciobrama macrocephalus.Cyprinidae.ThreatenedfishesCommon name: Long spiky-head carp. Conservationstatus: Vulnerable, China Red Data Book of Endan-gered Animals (Yue and Chen 1998) and ChinaSpecies Red List (Wang and Xie 2004). Identifica-tion: Slender body; pointed and long head; pipe-shaped snout; large and superior mouth; small eye; Diii-8, A iii-10-11, P i-14-16, Vi-8-9, lateral-line scales134–152. Body color dark gray on back, silvery whiteon lateral and belly, red on pectoral fin. Illustrationfrom Fauna Sinica (Osteichthyes: Cypriniformes II)(Chen 1998). Larvae are identified by the number ofsomites and the proportion of diameter of eye to opticcapsule (Liang et al. 2003). Distribution: Throughoutthe Yangtze River and Pearl River Basins in Chinaand Vietnam (Yue and Chen 1998;Yen1985).Abundance: Low to moderate vulnerability. Habitatand ecology: Juveniles (<30 cm TL) generally live inupper and middle layers and those larger live inmiddle and lower layers of water (Yue and Chen1998). The matured fishes migrate upstream to spawnin April and May. Reproduction: Spawning in theareas with turbulent and circular current. Embryos arehatched about 35 h after fertilization (Zhou et al.1980; Liang et al. 2003). Threats: Degradation or lossof the habitats results in the difficulty for the speciesto enter nursery lakes (Jiang and He 2008). Overfish-ing and food shortage are other major causes ofpopulation declination (Wang and Xie 2004).Conservation action: Forbidden fishing in spring inthe Yangtze River and Pearl River has been enforcing.Conservation recommendation: Habitats should beprotected and rehabilitated, and non-fishing areas andperiods strictly enforced. The blocking of the waterconnection between rivers and lakes should beavoided.