''Scaphognathops theunensis'' is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...

, the family which includes the carps, barbs and related fishes. This species is classified by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Critically Endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

, being

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the upper parts of the Nam Kading basin in Laos where it occurs in the middle and lower

Nam Theun Nam Theun (also known as ''Khading''), is a river in Laos, in Khammouane and Bolikhamsai Provinces. Together with its tributaries Nam One, Nam Noy, and Nam Theun it has total length of and drains an area of . "Nam Theun" is also three options ...

and the Nam Gnouang rivers. It needs flowing water and is threatened by the creation of

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

s which have been created on the rivers this species is found in.

References

theunensis Cyprinid fish of Asia Fish of Laos IUCN Red List critically endangered species Fish described in 1998 Taxa named by Maurice Kottelat {{Cyprinidae-stub