Record of Iridescent shark catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus Sauvage, 1878 (Siluriformes: Pangasiidae) from Madampa-Lake in Southwest Sri Lanka

Abstract

A n exotic catfish was recorde d at Madampa Lake in Southwest coastal zone of Sri Lanka during an ichthyofaunal survey carried out from 1 st of April 2009 to 20 th August 2010. The species is identified as Pangasianodon hypophthalmus, which has been described as a potential ly problematic species on native fishes in some neighbour ing countries of the region . This species naturally occurs in the Mekong River in South - East Asia. The observation of P . hypophthalmus is a novel record in wild habitats of Sri Lanka, where its introduction is pro bably an accidental release from the ornamental fish trade, but no substantial information is detected as a proof of invasion or a n a t u ralisation of the current population