Endangered
Zebra loach
Botia striata
The zebra loach is a freshwater loach endemic to a small area within the rivers and streams of the Western Ghats in India.
Appearance
The first description of B. Striata was published in 1920 by Indian Zoologist C R Narayan Rao, stating that:"The color of this Loach is most beautiful. The body is diversified by broad dark and narrow yellow bands, that from behind the nape form oblique hoops directed backwards." The fish takes on a fusiform shape, with a body approximately as tall as their heads are long. The largest zebra loach recorded was 9.5cm (3.74") from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail.
Range and habitat
The Western Ghats is one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world, known for its tropical evergreen forests and designation as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The zebra loach's range is restricted to four different rivers: the Tunga and Bhadra rivers of Karnataka, and the Panchganga river and Koyna river in the state of Maharashtra. The zebra loach is a freshwater loach endemic to a small area within the rivers and streams of the Western Ghats in India.
Few conservation efforts are underway, but at least part of their habitat is protected within the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
Home aquarium breeding is unknown, but the species is bred on a commercial basis with the use of hormones.
In crisis
According to the IUCN, the zebra loach is endangered due to habitat alteration from deforestation and pollution combined with their small geographic range. Little is known about their actual population size, but generally they are thought to be in decline given their Red List status and the high number of wild specimens exported every year.
Zebra loach 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 Zebra loach, Wikidata item Q169395. 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.
