12 new freshwater fish species found in Vietnam

The Ho Chi Minh City-based Wildlife At Risk (WAR) organisation on Dec. 21 announced the discovery of 12 new species of freshwater fish in Vietnam.

Having been discovered in Phu Quoc at the end of 2008, these species include ca chach suoi duoi gai (barbucca cf.diabolica), ca heo gai mat myers (pangio myersi), ca heo rau duoi che (lepidocephalichthys furcatus), ca lang suoi nau (amblyceps cf.foratum), ca lia thia ap mieng (betta prima), redstripe rasbora (rasbora pauciperforata), lambchop rasbora (trigonostigma espei), malay combtail (belontia hasselti), bornean leaffish (nandus cf.nebulosus), pearl danio (danio pulcher), striped glass catfish (kryptopterus macrocephalus) and ca tren scheinder (silurichthys schneideri).

According to WAR, which helps to track changes in the population of fishes and carry out conservation solutions, these species play an important role in maintaining a delicate ecological balance.

In the near future, WAR will continue to conduct research into a fish breeding programme and release fish into the wild.

At the beginning of December, WAR released over 100 betta prima fishes from the breeding programme into Cau Do river, an estuary of Sai Gon river.