Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Cobitidae (Spined loaches)
Etymology: Lepidocephalichthys: Greek, lepas = limpet + Greek, ichtys = fish (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Rodney Jonklaas (1925–1989) was a pioneering Sri Lankan diver, underwater photographer and zoo administrator. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 0 - ? m. Tropical; 7°N - 6°N
Asia: known only from the type locality in Wilpita, Akuressa in Sri Lanka; recent collections indicate presence of species in the Kalu River basin near Madakada (6°48'N, 80°10'E) and in the Kanneliya Reserve in the Gin River Basin, Sri Lanka.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6028)
Facultative air-breathing in the genus (Ref. 126274); Not enough is known of the biology of this species. Inhabits shallow, slow-flowing rivulets, heavily shaded, with leaf debris (Ref. 11966). This fish is not visible from the water surface, being concealed beneath leaf debris. It is too rare to be of value to the aquarium trade which in any case exports large numbers of the superficially similar Lepidocephalus thermalis.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Pethiyagoda, R., 1991. Freshwater fishes of Sri Lanka. The Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka, Colombo. 362 p. (Ref. 6028)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00617 (0.00284 - 0.01340), b=3.08 (2.91 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.8 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).