Austroglanis barnardi is a critically endangered

Critically endangered

Version 2010.3 of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 3744 Critically Endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and subpopulations.Critically Endangered by kingdom:*1993 Animalia*2 Fungi*1745 Plantae*4 Protista-References:...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

 (order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Siluriformes). It is also known as the spotted rock-catfish or Barnard's rock-catfish.

This species has only been recorded from the Thee and Noordhoeks Rivers, both small tributaries of the Clanwilliam Olifants river in the Western Cape

Western Cape

The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It is extremely uncommon in these two streams it inhabits. A. barnardi inhabits riffles among loosely bedded rocks and coarse sand. Other species that occur in this area include Pseudobarbus phlegethon, Barbus calidus, and Austroglanis gilli. The reproduction of this species is unknown.

These fish reach a length of about 8 centimetres (3 in) SL

Fish measurement

Fish measurement refers to the measuring of the length of individual fish and of various parts of their anatomy. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.-Overall length:...

. The head is flattened, the snout is broad, and the mouth is subterminal (downturned). There are three pairs of barbel

Barbel (anatomy)

A barbel on a fish is a slender, whiskerlike tactile organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, sturgeon, the zebrafish and some species of shark...

s. Their color is golden-brown with dark brown blotches.

A. barnardi is threatened by habitat destruction from several causes associated with agricultural development, including stream channelisation, water abstraction, and sedimentation, all of which reduce the incidence of their obligate riffle habitat. They are also threatened by introduced

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

predators. Introduced plants may have an extensive effect on their habitat.