Osteobrama cotio, one of the Near Threatened (NT) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh
Osteobrama cotio, one of the Near Threatened (NT) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh

A Near Threatened (NT) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as likely to become endangered in the near future. It is the fourth highest risk category after Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species. On the other hand, it is the highest risk category after Threatened species.

According to IUCN Bangladesh (2015a, b) two hundred fifty three Freshwater Fishes were assessed by IUCN Bangladesh. Threatened Categories are concerned nearly one fourth (64 species) of the species are under threat, among them 9 (3%) Critically Endangered, 30 (12%) Endangered, and 25 (10%) Vulnerable. This has been followed by 27 (11%) species as Near Threatened. Outside the purview of the Threatened and Near Threatened Categories, there are 122 (48%) species that were assessed as Least Concern and rest of the 40 (16%) as Data Deficient.

Table: Conservation status of Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh (2015a, b))

Categories Number Percentage (%)
Threatened  64 25
Critically Endangered (CR) 09 3
Endangered (EN) 30 12
Vulnerable (VU) 25 10
Near Threatened (NT)  27 11
Least Concern (LC)  122 48
Data Deficient (DD)  40 16
Total  253 100

List of Vulnerable (VU) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh (2015a, b))

1 Badis badis
2 Batasio batasio
3 Canthophrys gongota
4 Cirrhinus cirrhosus
5 Cirrhinus reba
6 Conta conta
7 Danio rerio
8 Gagata youssoufi
9 Hemibagrus menoda
10 Ichthyocampus carce
11 Labeo gonius
12 Macrognathus aculeatus
13 Macrospinosa cuja
14 Mystus cavasius
15 Mystus gulio
16 Nandus nandus
17 Osteobrama cotio
18 Pethia gelius
19 Plotosus canius
20 Pseudambassis baculis
21 Psilorhynchus gracilis
22 Psilorhynchus sucatio
23 Rasbora rasbora
24 Salmostoma phulo
25 Schistura savona
26 Securicula gora
27 Systomus sarana

NB: Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine categories, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. The term “Threatened” is a grouping of three categories such as Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.

Categories Criteria
Extinct (EX) No known individuals remaining
Extinct in the wild (EW) Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range
Threatened
Critically endangered (CR) Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Endangered (EN) High risk of extinction in the wild
Vulnerable (VU) High risk of endangerment in the wild
Near threatened (NT) Likely to become endangered in the near future
Least concern (LC) Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at-risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category
Data deficient (DD) Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction
Not evaluated (NE) Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria

Reference:

  • Froese R and Pauly D (Editors) (2016) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, (10/2016 )
  • IUCN Bangladesh (2015a) Red List of Bangladesh: A Brief on Assessment Result 2015. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 24.
  • IUCN Bangladesh (2015b) Red List of Bangladesh Volume 5: Freshwater Fishes. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp xvi+360
  • Rahman AKA (1989) Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh. Zoological Society of Bangladesh, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 364 pp.
  • Rahman AKA (2005) Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh, second edition. Zoological Society of Bangladesh, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 394 pp.
  • Talwar PK and Jhingran AG (1991) Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. vol 1 and 2. Oxford IBH Publishing Co Pvt Ltd, New Delhi-Calcutta. pp. 1-542 and 543-1158.

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Near Threatened (NT) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh

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