Balantiocheilos ambusticauda Ng & Kottelat, 2007
Burnt tail fish

Family:  Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps), subfamily: Cyprininae
Max. size:  10.51 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Southeast Asia: Lower and middle Mekong and Chao Phraya river drainages in mainland Southeast Asia. The original distribution of this species included the Chao Phraya River drainage from Bangkok upriver to the lower Nan River (Smith, 1945) and in the Mekong from Viet Nam and the Great Lake (Tonle Sap) to the lower Nam Ngum River (Taki, 1968). The specimen identified as Balantiocheilus from Chiengmai by Fowler (1934: 127) is actually a juvenile Poropuntius.
Diagnosis:  Vertebrae: 14-16. Balantiocheilos ambusticauda is distinguished from its sole congener, B. melanopterus, in having a shorter snout (27.5–33.9% HL vs. 33.2–39.1) that is rounded (vs. obliquely truncate) in specimens larger than ca. 80 mm SL, posteriorly directed groove at rictus curved (vs. straight), and narrower black margins on the pelvic and anal fins (on distal third of both fins or less vs. on distal half or more, with pelvic fins sometimes entirely black) (Ref. 58339).
Biology: 
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered (CR); Date assessed: 21 February 2011 (D) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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