Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Spotted rainbowfish (Glossolepis maculosus), recorded as Endangered
Spotted rainbowfish (Glossolepis maculosus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Spotted rainbowfish

Glossolepis maculosus

Spotted rainbowfish is a rainbowfish in the family Melanotaeniidae (order Atheriniformes) — Glossolepis maculosus. This species was described by Gerald R.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Glossolepis maculosus
Taxonomy
Atheriniformes · Melanotaeniidae · Glossolepis

The rainbowfish

This species was described by Gerald R.

Range and habitat

It is endemic to the river systems of the Markham and Ramu Rivers in Papua New Guinea. Allen in 1981 with the type locality given as a small tributary of the Omsis River, about 22 kilometers west of Lae in the Markham River system, Papua New Guinea.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Habits

Silversides and rainbowfishes need clear water and a place to school. A lake form does not commute to the next basin.

In crisis

Spotted rainbowfish is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Spotted rainbowfish, Wikidata item Q1498043. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Glossolepis dorityi (Glossolepis dorityi), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Glossolepis dorityi

Glossolepis dorityi
Photograph of Lake Wanam rainbowfish (Glossolepis wanamensis), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Lake Wanam rainbowfish

Glossolepis wanamensis
Photograph of Red rainbowfish (Glossolepis incisus), recorded as EndangeredEN

Red rainbowfish

Glossolepis incisus
Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus

Quick answers

What is Spotted rainbowfish?
It is endemic to the river systems of the Markham and Ramu Rivers in Papua New Guinea.
What is the conservation status of Spotted rainbowfish?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Glossolepis maculosus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Spotted rainbowfish live?
It is endemic to the river systems of the Markham and Ramu Rivers in Papua New Guinea.
Why is Spotted rainbowfish in crisis?
It is Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Glossolepis maculosus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Spotted rainbowfish a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.