List of brackishwater and Introduced fish of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. It is situated in the middle of Indian Ocean. Because of being an island, Sri Lanka also has marine and brackish water fish, as well as freshwater fish.

Brackish water is the water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. Brackish water condition commonly occurs when fresh water meets seawater. Brackish water habitats worldwide are estuaries, where a river meets the sea and mangroves, brackish marshes and brackish lakes and seas.

Sometimes, marine and Brackish water species enter and remain in fresh water. Such fish are enable to control the osmotic pressures and hypertonic and hypotonic concentrations for survive.

Class: Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes

Since Sri Lanka was ruled by Portuguese, Dutch, and British, they began introducing a number of exotic species including mammals, plant, birds and fish. The introduction of the fish has led to serious ecological damage, because they always damage the internal diversity and extinction of endemic fauna as well. Most of these exotic species brought for commercial purposes, such as seafood and aquarium fish. But releasing them to natural ecosystems will result many harms. Exotic fish in Sri Lanka is become now serious, due to invasiveness.

There are 8 known marine and brackish water fish that enter freshwater ecosystems in and around Sri Lanka.

Order: Clupeiformes - Herrings and allies

Family: Clupeidae - Clupeids

Many members of the family have a body protected with shiny cycloid scales, a single dorsal fin, with a fusiform body built for quick evasive swimming and pursuit of prey composed of small planktonic animals.

Name Binomial Status
Malabar sprat Ehirava fluviatilis

Order: Elopiformes - Tenpounders and allies

Family: Megalopidae - Tarpons

They are able to survive in brackish water, waters of varying pH, and habitats with low dissolved O
2 content due to their swim bladders, which they use primarily to breathe. They are also able to rise to the surface and take gulps of air, which gives them a short burst of energy.

Name Binomial Status
Indo-Pacific tarpon Megalops cyprinoides

Order: Perciformes - Perches

Family: Gobiidae - Gobies

Generally, they are benthic, or bottom-dwellers. Although few are important as food for humans, they are of great significance as prey species for commercially important fish such as cod, haddock, sea bass, and flatfish. Several gobies are also of interest as aquarium fish.

Name Binomial Status
Bull goby Redigobius balteatus

Family: Toxotidae - Archerfishes

Known for their habit of preying on land-based insects and other small animals by shooting them down with water droplets from their specialized mouths.

Name Binomial Status
Largescale archerfish Toxotes chatareus

Order: Beloniformes

Family: Zenarchopteridae - Viviparous halfbeaks

They exhibit strong sexual dimorphism, practicing internal fertilisation, and in some cases ovoviviparous or viviparous (the family also includes oviparous species).

Name Binomial Status
Feathered river garfish Zenarchopterus dispar

Family: Hemiramphidae - Halfbeaks

They are commonly called 'Half-beaks, for their distinctive jaws, in which the lower jaws are significantly longer than the upper jaws.

Name Binomial Status
Congaturi halfbeak Hyporhamphus limbatus

Order: Syngnathiformes

Family: Syngnathidae - Pipefish and seahorses

The name is derived from Greek, syn, meaning "fused" or "together", and gnathus, meaning "jaws". This fused jaw trait is something the entire family has in common.

Name Binomial Status
Short-tailed pipefish Microphis brachyurus
Ocellated pipefish Microphis ocellatus

An introduced, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its native distributional range, which has arrived there by human activity, either deliberate or accidental. Non-native species can have various effects on the local ecosystem. Introduced species that become established and spread beyond the place of introduction are called invasive species. Some have a negative effect on a local ecosystem. Some introduced species may have no negative effect or only minor impact. Some species have been introduced intentionally to combat pests.

There are 24 introduced fish species which inhabit all freshwater, brackish water and marine waters.

Order: Cypriniformes

Family: Cyprinidae - Carps and allies

Cyprinids are stomachless fish with toothless jaws. Even so, food can be effectively chewed by the gill rakers of the specialized last gill bow.

Name Binomial Status
Bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
Goldfish Carassius auratus
Indian carp Catla catla
Grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella
Common carp Cyprinus carpio
Silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
Mrigal carp Cirrhinus mrigala
Rohu Labeo rohita

Order: Salmoniformes - Salmons

Family: Salmonidae

All salmonids spawn in fresh water, but in many cases, the fish spend most of their lives at sea, returning to the rivers only to reproduce. This lifecycle is described as anadromous. They are slender fish, with rounded scales and forked tails.

Name Binomial Status
Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss invasive

Order: Cyprinodontiformes - Toothcarps

Family: Poeciliidae - Guppy and swordtails

They are extensively used for mosquito control, poeciliids can today be found in all tropical and subtropical areas of the world.

Name Binomial Status
Mosquitofish Gambusia affinis
Guppy Poecilia reticulata
Green swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii
Common platy Xiphophorus maculatus

Order: Perciformes

Family: Cichlidae - Cichlids

Cichlids are popular freshwater fish kept in the home aquarium. Cichlids tend to be of medium size, ovate in shape, and slightly laterally compressed, and generally similar to the North American sunfishes in morphology, behavior, and ecology.

Name Binomial Status
Redbreast tilapia Coptodon rendalli
Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus
Mossambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus
Wami tilapia Oreochromis urolepis
Redbelly tilapia Tilapia zillii

Family: Osphronemidae - Gouramis

Many gouramis have an elongated, feeler-like ray at the front of each of their pelvic fins. Many species show parental care: some are mouthbrooders.

Name Binomial Status
Snakeskin gourami Trichopodus pectoralis
Three spot gourami Trichopodus trichopterus
Giant gourami Osphronemus goramy

Family: Helostomatidae - Kissing gouramis

Single species is known. The kissing gourami is a popular aquarium fish.

Name Binomial Status
Kissing gourami Helostoma temminckii

Order: Siluriformes - Catfishes

Family: Loricariidae - Suckermouth fishes

These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. They are popular as aquarium fish.

Name Binomial Status
Sail-fin pleco Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus

Order: Osteoglossiformes - Bony tongues

Family: Notopteridae - Knifefishes

Known as knifefish or featherbacks, have slender, elongated, bodies, giving them a knife-like appearance. The caudal fin is small and fused with the anal fin, which runs most of the length of the body. Where present, the dorsal fin is small and narrow, giving rise to the common name of "featherback".

Name Binomial Status
Clown knifefish Chitala ornata invasive

References

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