The katrana (''Rheocles alaotrensis'') is a species of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the

Bedotiidae Bedotiidae are a family of fish in the order Atheriniformes. They are closely related to the Australian rainbowfish family Melanotaeniidae, and were formerly placed in it as a subfamily, but are now considered a distinct family. They are commonl ...

family. It is

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 basin of

Lake Alaotra Lake Alaotra (, ; ) is the largest lake in Madagascar, located in Alaotra-Mangoro, Alaotra-Mangoro Region and on the island's northern central plateau. Its basin is composed of shallow freshwater lakes and marshes surrounded by areas of dense vege ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s and freshwater

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. This species was described by Jacques Pellegrin as ''Atherina alaotrensis'' with the type locality of Lake Aloatra.

References

Katrana Freshwater fish of Madagascar Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Jacques Pellegrin Fish described in 1914 {{Atheriniformes-stub