An Updated Checklist of Freshwater and Estuarine Fishes of Kinmen, with New Records of Invasive Freshwater Fishes from Mainland China via Transnational Water Diversion
Shih-Pin Huang 1* and Kwang-Yiao Chen 2
1 Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan
|
Abstract:
A series of field surveys were undertaken from 2013 to 2025 to investigate the inland water fish fauna in Kinmen and Lieyu Islands, with a total of 181 established sampling sites. An updated checklist of freshwater and estuarine fish species of Kinmen is presented in this study based on the results of these field surveys. A total of 61 inland water fish species were recorded from Kinmen and Lieyu Islands. Among them, 10 species were newly recorded in Kinmen, comprising six native species (Hemiculter leucisculus, Rhodeus ocellatus, Mesopristes argenteus, Oxuderces dentatus, Pseudogobius taijiangensis, and Anabas testudineus) and five alien species (Chanodichthys erythropterus, Toxabramis houdemeri, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Clarias gariepinus, and Micropterus salmoides). Notably, since the transnational water diversion from mainland China to Kinmen Island started to deliver water in 2018, seven fish species from mainland China were recorded to have invaded Kinmen's water via this diversion route. These species include Chanodichthys erythropterus, Toxabramis houdemeri, Rhodeus ocellatus, Pseudorasbora parva, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Rhinogobius similis, and Coptodon zillii. All these invasive species or alien populations from China were detected in the retention pond, with some species subsequently invading the rivers and reservoirs in eastern Kinmen. Based on the findings of the present study, an updated list of threatened inland water fish species in Kinmen is provided. Puntius snyderi and Cobitis sp. have possibly gone extinct from Kinmen, Macropodus opercularis is possibly extinct in the wild from Kinmen, five native species (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Metzia mesembrinum, Rhodeus ocellatus, Anabas testudineus, and Hemiculter leucisculus) are classified as threatened in Kinmen inland waters.
|