Mbuta RainbowfishMelanotaenia lacunosa

Conservation Actions

There are no conservation actions in place for this species. Research into the population and distribution is recommended.

Location Information

This species is known only from streams in the vicinity of Mbuta (Mbutu) Basin near Etna Bay, West Papua Province, Indonesia. The oval-shaped basin is approximately 9 km long and 3.2 km wide, along a northeast-southeast axis. Its south-eastern end is only 3.5 km from Etna Bay via a narrow valley flanked by 800-900 m high ridges. The valley gradually ascends from the bay to a 200 m high pass before opening into Mbuta Basin, which lies at an elevation of 170 m above sea level (Allen et al. 2016, G.R. Allen pers. comm. 2019).

Geographic Range

Extant

Indonesia

Population Information

This species was common in streams in 2010, 2014 and 2016, and the population trend is considered stable (G.R. Allen and Kadarusman pers. comm. 2019).

There are large fluctuations in the water level of the habitat and these are likely to be leading to fluctuations in the population. However, it is not clear if these are of great enough magnitude to be extreme fluctuations.

Threats

There are large natural water level fluctuations in the habitat of this species in the main Mbuta Basin and these are being exacerbated by climate change. Predation by birds during the dry season is also a threat (Kadarusman pers. comm. 2019). This is likely to become more severe a threat if the dry season is prolonged due to climate change.

IUCN Red List Account Link

Please click here to see the species' IUCN Red List Account page.