CARES

The Conservation, Awareness, Recognition, and Encouragement for Species program — a hobbyist-led priority list for freshwater fishes whose wild populations need ex-situ backup. Used on this platform to flag species that are prioritized by the aquarium-keeping community; distinct from the IUCN Red List assessment.

Critically Endangered (CR)

IUCN Red List category for species facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. On this platform, CR is the most severe assessed category displayed.

Data Deficient (DD)

IUCN Red List category for species with inadequate information to make a direct or indirect assessment of extinction risk. Not a category of lower concern — a DD species may well be threatened.

Darwin Core

The biodiversity data standard maintained by TDWG and used by GBIF for occurrence records. This platform stores occurrence data in Darwin Core–compliant form and can publish it to GBIF as a Darwin Core Archive.

Endangered (EN)

IUCN Red List category for species facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild, one tier below Critically Endangered.

Endemic

Found only in a given area and nowhere else. For this platform, all species in the registry are endemic to Madagascar — native to the island's freshwater systems and not naturally occurring elsewhere.

Ex-situ

Conservation activity that takes place outside a species' natural habitat — for example, captive breeding at a zoo, public aquarium, or private hobbyist facility. Contrast with in-situ.

GBIF

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility — an international network and data infrastructure that aggregates species occurrence records. This platform can publish locality data to GBIF via Darwin Core Archives.

In-situ

Conservation activity that takes place within a species' natural habitat — field surveys, habitat restoration, community-managed protected areas. Contrast with ex-situ.

Least Concern (LC)

IUCN Red List category for species that have been evaluated and do not qualify for a threatened category. Among Madagascar's endemic freshwater fish, very few species reach LC.

Near Threatened (NT)

IUCN Red List category for species close to qualifying for, or likely to qualify for, a threatened category in the near future.

Not Evaluated (NE) / not yet assessed

A species that has not been evaluated against the IUCN Red List criteria. Public profiles on this platform display "not yet assessed" rather than a category abbreviation; the NE code appears only in space-constrained contexts such as badges and map legends.

SHOAL

A global conservation initiative focused on freshwater species. Its 1,000 Fishes Blueprint identifies priority species for coordinated action; species flagged as SHOAL priorities are marked on their profile here.

Studbook

A structured record of pedigree, demographics, and transfer history for a captive population of a single species. Used to manage genetic diversity and demographic viability across institutions. Studbook-level data on this platform is restricted to program-manager accounts.

Threatened

Shorthand for the combined set of Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable IUCN categories. Does not include Near Threatened.

Vulnerable (VU)

IUCN Red List category for species facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, one tier below Endangered.

ZIMS

The Zoological Information Management System, operated by Species360. It is the standard record system for captive animal populations at accredited zoos and aquariums. This platform references ZIMS records where partner institutions have shared access.