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Description |
Africa: South Africa to Kenya, Madagascar, R?union and Mauritius.
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: The species is found in the Indo-West Pacific from subtropical eastern South Africa to Kenya, Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius (Anderson and Heemstra 2003, Harrison 2005), Seychelles (Playfair 1868), Zanzibar (Playfair and Günther 1867), Borneo (Fowler 1905), India (Raj 1916, Talwar and Jhingran 1991, Jayaram 1999, Bijukumar and Sushama 2001, Ramanujam and Anbarasan 2009, Bijukumar et al. 2013) and north Australasia (Day 1875).
Countries occurrence:
Native:
Australia; Brunei Darussalam; India; Indonesia (Kalimantan); Kenya; Madagascar; Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak); Mauritius; Mozambique; Réunion; Seychelles; South Africa; Tanzania, United Republic of
Additional data:
? Upper elevation limit (metres): 50
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.
Population [top]
Population: No information is available on the global population status. In India, although previous data reveal that the species was very rare in Madras (Raj 1916) and Bharathapuzha River in Kerala (Bijukumar and Sushama 2001), current population trends are not known. However, in Kodungallur-Azhikode Estuary, Kerala, the species is considered common (Nandan et al. 2012). Percentage abundance of this species in the estuary between Orange River and Kosi Bay of South Africa was 1.86% and its contribution to the total biomass of fishes was 0.01% (Harrison 2005). In the river stretches of Lake Mzingazi, east coast of South Africa, Weerts et al. (2014) recorded the species to contribute 60% of the catches using seine nets.
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Additional data:
? Population severely fragmented: No
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: Ambassis ambassis prefers estuarine environments but it may enter into freshwater systems. It is mainly found in ascending rivers and brackish water lakes (Talwar and Jhingran 1991). In Madagascar, Ambassis ambassis is commonly known from estuaries, lagoons, lower reaches of rivers, low altitude floodplain lakes and volcanic crater lakes in Nosy Be (Anderson and Heemstra 2003, T. Ravelomanana pers. comm. 2017). It is very abundant along the Pangalana canal and in lagoons in eastern Madagascar (T. Ravelomanana pers. comm. 2017).
It attains a total length of around 6 inches (Day 1875).
Systems: Freshwater; Marine
Use and Trade [top]
Use and Trade:
Ambassis ambassis is caught in fairly large amounts in Kerala and are used as food or as a bait for capturing other fishes (Talwar and Jhingran 1991). It is also part of an important fishery in Madagascar (T. Ravelomanana pers. comm. 2017). No report is available on harvesting as a threat to the species.
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): No information is available on threats to the species.
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions:
No species-specific conservation actions are known from anywhere in its range. Since this widespread species is likely to be a species complex, taxonomic studies are essential to resolve this. Research is also required on the population status, ecology, harvest trends and threats to the species.
Citation: Dahanukar, N. & Sparks, J.S. 2017. Ambassis ambassis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T166881A58317229. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T166881A58317229.en. Downloaded on 17 October 2018.
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