Lipstick Goby (Scicyopua jonklaasi)
"Lipstick Goby" known in native Sinhala language as "Jonklaas Weligowwa" is a very rare and endemic freshwater fish found in Sri Lanka and classified by the IUCN as Endangered.
It grows to a length of 4.5 cm and lives in streams that contain fast flowing water with rocky bottom.
New hatchlings of Lipstick Goby are washed to the sea by heavy rainflow and mature in the sea before heading back to the stream. The hatchlings are known to die before maturity if this process is altered which has caused the populations to drastically decline due to increase in man-made dams within their habitat.
Currently, one of the last remaining habitats of "Lipstick Goby" in Sri Lanka is under threat due to the proposed Athwelthota mini-hydro project.
New hatchlings of Lipstick Goby are washed to the sea by heavy rainflow and mature in the sea before heading back to the stream. The hatchlings are known to die before maturity if this process is altered which has caused the populations to drastically decline due to increase in man-made dams within their habitat.
Currently, one of the last remaining habitats of "Lipstick Goby" in Sri Lanka is under threat due to the proposed Athwelthota mini-hydro project.
