Cirrhinus molitorella (Valenciennes)

Chan, Jeffery C. F., Tsang, Alphonse H. F., Yau, Sze-man, Hui, Tommy C. H., Lau, Anthony, Tan, Heok Hui, Low, Bi Wei, Dudgeon, David & Liew, Jia Huan, 2023, The non-native freshwater fishes of Hong Kong: diversity, distributions, and origins, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 71, pp. 128-168 : 135

Cirrhinus molitorella (Valenciennes)

( Fig. 7 , [LU])

Distribution. Plover Cove Reservoir ( Dudgeon, 1983; Lai, 2011; current survey); Tai O River (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2002; current survey); Mai Po Nature Reserve (WWF, 2006; WWF, 2021); Hok Tau Reservoir, Upper Shing Mun Reservoir, Kowloon Reservoir, Shek Lei Pui Reservoir ( Lai, 2011; current survey); Tung Chung River ( Green Power, 2021); Sandy Ridge area (Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited, 2016); Lau Shui Heung Reservoir, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, Tai Ho River (AFCD, 2021c); Wong Lung Hang, Cheung Po Stream, Shek Kong Stream, Lam Tsuen River, Ho Chung River (DSD, 2021); Mui Tsz Lam Stream, Ng Tung River, Wu Kau Tang Stream (GBIF.org, 2021); Sam Dip Tam Stream ( Tsang & Dudgeon, 2021a); Deep Water Bay Stream, Yung Shue O Stream, Kowloon Reception Reservoir (current survey).

Native range. (Southeast Asia) to Vietnam and South China.

Remarks. This species was imported from Guangzhou and introduced into the fish farms of New Territories prior to the 1950s ( Lin, 1949). It is still reared as food and sold in local markets. Fingerlings are sold as feeder fish for large carnivorous ornamental species and are sometimes released during Buddhist rituals.

Figures

Fig. 7. Cirrhinus molitorella, 63.8 mm SL, Kowloon Reservoir.