Craterocephalus lacustris
Lake Kutubu Hardyhead
Species Summary
One of around a dozen fish species found nowhere else but Lake Kutubu, a large, ancient lake in Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands Province, Craterocephalus lacustris was assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 2017.
Etymology
The species name means “belonging to a lake”, referring to Lake Kutubu (elevation 808 m), the only place this species is found.
Etymology compiled from C. Scharpf (2020), “Fishes of Sahul: An Etymological Survey (Part 3)”, Fishes of Sahul 34(2): 1568–1582, and etyfish.org.
Remarks
Lake Kutubu’s unique fish fauna faces real pressure from pollution and fish-kill events linked to development around the lake, and from the broader impacts of oil and gas extraction in the surrounding region — concerns that apply to the lake’s whole endemic fauna, this hardyhead included, rather than being specific to any one species.
Compiled for Home of the Rainbowfish from ANGFA sources: B. Y. Imbun & P. T. Smith, “Recent Developments at Lake Kutubu: impacts on the fish and the Foe people”, Fishes of Sahul 32(1), March 2018, pp. 1225–1228.