The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth-longest river and the third-longest in Asia with an estimated length of 4,909 km (3,050 mi) and a drainage area of 795,000 km2 (307,000 sq mi), discharging 475 km3 (114 cu mi) of water annually. From its headwaters in the Tibetan Plateau, the river runs through Southwest China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and southern Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow and the presence of rapids and waterfalls in the Mekong make navigation difficult. Even so, the river is a major trade route between western China and Southeast Asia. The construction of hydroelectric dams along the Mekong in recent decades causes serious problems for the river's ecosystem, including the exacerbation of drought.
The Mekong giant catfish, is a large, threatened species of catfish in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and adjacent China. It is considered critically endangered due to overfishing and habitat loss.
The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and already extirpated from many regions. Its other common names include Siamese freshwater crocodile, Singapore small-grain, and soft-belly.
The giant barb, Siamese giant carp, or simply Siamese carp, is the largest species of cyprinid in the world. These migratory fish are found only in the Mae Klong, Mekong, and Chao Phraya River basins in Indochina. Populations have declined drastically due to habitat loss and overfishing, and the giant barb is now considered critically endangered.
The wildlife of Laos encompasses the animals and plants found in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a landlocked country in southeastern Asia. Part of the country is mountainous and much of it is still clad in tropical broadleaf forest. It has a great variety of animal and plant species.
Sindora siamensis is a species of tree in the subfamily Detarioideae of the family Fabaceae. It has an accepted infraspecific, the variety S. siamensis var. maritima (Pierre) K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen. See taxon box to the right below, and below for details on the variety maritima. The nominate species is found in many countries in tropical Asia. Like several other species in the genus Sindora, its wood is considered valuable; the least concern conservation status may reflect efforts to replant this species, but mortality rates are high. As well as the wood, the plant provides raw material for chemical products, food and drink, and domestic utensils.
The giant salmon carp, also termed the Mekong giant salmon carp, is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae and the single species in the monotypic genus Aaptosyax. It is endemic to the middle reaches of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Its population is much reduced (>90%) as a result of overfishing and habitat degradation, and it is now considered Critically Endangered.
The Jullien's golden carp is a species of endangered freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Southeast Asian river basins. Its existence is being threatened by various economic activities, such as large-scale agriculture and the building of dams for hydropower.
The Peacock Eel or Spotfin Spiny Eel is a spiny eel found in freshwater habitats throughout Southeast Asia. They are commercially important as food and aquarium fish.
Schistura magnifluvis is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. It is found in the middle Mekong basin in Thailand and Laos, from the Nam Heung basin to the Xe Don system, it probably occurs in Cambodia too. It is found in streams and rivers, including the nmain channel of the Mekong, in stretches of moderate to fast current over a variety of substrates from mud to stone.
The Java barb, more commonly known as silver barb in aquaculture, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Barbonymus.
Shark minnow is a species of small cyprinid fish found in Southeast Asia from the Mae Klong River to the Mekong. It lives mainly in rivers, moving into flooded forests and fields during the floods and back into the river as the floods recede. It usually swims close to the surface in schools of many individuals. It is one of the most abundant of the different types of minnow-sized fishes known as pla sio in Thailand.
Henicorhynchus lineatus is a freshwater river-dwelling carp of Laos and Thailand.
Henicorhynchus lobatus is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is endemic to Indochina. It is common in the Mekong and also occurs in the Mae Klong and Chao Phraya basins as well as in the associated lowland areas. It is a keystone species in the Mekong.
Osteochilus lini is a freshwater fish from Southeast Asia. It is found in the lower Mekong River basin, the Chao Phraya River basin, and some coastal drainages; it occurs in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Its common name is dusky face carp.
Parachela siamensis is a small species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the carp and minnow family Cyprinidae.
Paralaubuca harmandi is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows from south east Asia. It occurs in the Mekong and Chao Praya in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is a solitary species which is normally found as scattered individuals in the shallow and medium depths of large rivers. It feeds on zooplankton and insects of larger size than the other species in Paralaubuca. It moves into floodplains during the monsoon to feed and maybe to breed, and it has also been recorded undertaking short migrations upstream in rivers. It is fished for by both commercial and subsistence fisheries and it is processed into fermented products in Cambodia while elsewhere it is salted and dried. This species is rare in the aquarium trade.
Paralaubuca typus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the carp and minnow family Cyprinidae from south-east Asia. It is found in Thailand in the basins of the Chao Phraya, Tapi, Mekong and Mae Klong and in the Mekong on Laos and Cambodia, as well as Vietnam where it is also found in the La Ngà River. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the lower Mekong.
Parambassis siamensis is a species of freshwater fish in the Asiatic glassfish family Ambassidae. It is native to the mainland Southeast Asia in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos; records from Singapore and Java (Indonesia) probably are introductions. Its range includes the Mekong, Mae Klong, and Chao Phraya basins. It grows to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) standard length, although typical length is about 4 cm (1.6 in).
Leptobarbus rubripinna, also known as the Sultan barb, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the carp and minnow family, Cyprinidae which occurs in south-east Asia.
