Rosy bitterling | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Subfamily: | Acheilognathinae |
Genus: | Rhodeus |
Species: | R. ocellatus |
Binomial name | |
Rhodeus ocellatus (Kner, 1866) | |
Synonyms | |
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The rosy bitterling or Tairiku baratanago (Rhodeus ocellatus) is a small freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae (carp), native to East Asia from the Amur River basin to the Pearl River basin. [2]
Females are about 4–5 cm (1.6–2.0 in) long and males are 5–8 cm (2.0–3.1 in). Their bodies are flat with an argent-colored luster. However, males change to a reddish (sometimes purple) color during the spawning season (March to September) which functions to attract females. This reddish color is similar to the color of a red rose, which is why it is called a rosy bitterling. [3]
Rosy bitterlings live in ponds (reservoirs) where freshwater mussels are abundant. Farm ponds are an important habitat for not only rosy bitterlings, but also mussels and plankton. Freshwater mussels play an important role in rosy bitterling reproduction. The female rosy bitterling has a unique pipe about the same length as its own body, used for laying eggs on a specific spot of mussels. Usually, two or three eggs are laid at once and placed on the gill of the mussel. A male spawns into the gill cavity of the mussels right after a female lays eggs to ensure fertilization. [4] Normally, a female lays eggs repeatedly at 6- to 9-day intervals about 10 times in a season.
Eggs grow in the mussels' gills and juveniles stay inside the mussel about 15 to 30 days after fertilization. Eggs hatch after about three days when juveniles are about 2.8 mm long. The body has a unique shape resembling the bud of a matsutake mushroom. Juveniles swim out of the mussel from the margin of the excurrent siphon. At this point, juveniles are about 7.5 mm long and about the same shape as adults. [5] Usually, juveniles grow around 40–50 mm within one year, when they become adults.
This and Rhodeus smithii , sometimes called the Japanese rosy bitterling, were formerly considered conspecific. In 1942, rosy bitterling were accidentally introduced with grass ( Ctenopharyngodon idellus) and silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) from mainland China. [6] [7] [8] Since the rosy bitterling was introduced, their population has been increasing dramatically all over Japan. Hybridization and subsequent gene introgression has been observed within these species in Kashima and Ogori. [9] Because of these interbreeding events, the number of R. smithii has dramatically declined all over Japan and now is in danger of extinction. In 1994, R. smithii was on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species, and now it is critically endangered. [10]
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vertebrate animal family in general with about 3,000 species, of which only 1,270 remain extant, divided into about 370 genera. Cyprinids range from about 12 mm in size to the 3 m (9.8 ft) giant barb. By genus and species count, the family makes up more than two-thirds of the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes. The family name is derived from the Greek word kyprînos.
Rhodeus is a genus of cyprinid fish, consisting of 23 species called bitterlings. The scientific name is derived from the Greek word rhodeos, meaning "rose". Most species in the genus are restricted to Asia, but two species are found in Europe.
The rosy barb is a subtropical freshwater cyprinid fish found in southern Asia from Afghanistan to Bangladesh.
The Russian bitterling, or spiny bitterling, is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae sub-family of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the Amur River basin in Asia, and is found in China and Russia.
The Kyushu bitterling is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae of the family Cyprinidae. It originates on Kyushu Island in Japan. It was originally described as Acanthorhodeus atremius by Jordan & Thompson in 1914. The fish reaches a size of up to 6 cm (2.5 in), and is native to freshwater habitats with a pH of 6.8 to 7.8, a hardness of 20 DH, and a temperature of 10 to 25 °C.
The European bitterling is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Acheilognathinae of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia. It was originally described as Cyprinus amarus by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1782, and has been referred to in scientific literature as Rhodeus sericeus amarus. It is known simply as "the bitterling" in its native range, where it is the only species of its genus Rhodeus, and sometimes in the scientific literature, also, but this is technically wrong, being a leftover from the times when the European bitterling was united with its Siberian relative, the Amur bitterling, in R. sericeus. Properly, "bitterling" can refer to any species of Acheilognathus or Rhodeus.
Light's bitterling is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Acheilognathinae of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in Russia and China, from the Amur River basin to southern China. It was originally described as Pseudoperilampus lighti by H.W. Wu in 1931.
Rhodeus rheinardti is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the Perfume River, near Hué, Vietnam. It was originally described as Danio rheinardti by G. Tirant in 1883.
Rhodeus sinensis is a subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originated in inland rivers in China, and has been introduced as an exotic species in Afghanistan. The fish reaches a length up to 5.2 cm (2.0 in), and is native to freshwater habitats with a pH of 6.8 to 7.8, a hardness of 20 DH, and a temperature of 10 to 25 °C. When spawning, the females deposit their eggs inside bivalves, where they hatch and the young remain until they can swim.
Rhodeus smithii, sometimes known as the Japanese rosy bitterling, Japanese bitterling, or Nippon baratanago is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in stagnant waters in inland rivers in Japan. It was originally described as Achilognathus smithii by Charles Tate Regan in 1908, and is also referred to as Rhodeus ocellatus smithii in scientific literature.
Rhodeus suigensis is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originated in inland rivers in Japan and the Korean peninsula. It was originally described as Pseudoperilampus suigensis by T. Mori in 1935, and has also been referred to as Rhodeus atremius suigensis in scientific literature. The species was listed as endangered in 1994 by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, but in 1996 was relisted as "data deficient". When spawning, the females deposit their eggs inside bivalves, where they hatch and the young remain until they can swim.
The wolf eel is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Anarhichadidae, the wolf fishes. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean. Despite its common name and resemblance, it is not a true eel. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Anarrhichthys.
Westralunio carteri is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Hyriidae. It is endemic to Western Australia. It is known by the common name Carter's freshwater mussel. This is the only species of the genus Westralunio found in Australia.
The striped bitterling is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus Acheilognathus. It is endemic to Lake Biwa and Lake Yogo in Japan. It typically grows to a length of 6.0 cm.
Nigoro-buna, sometimes called round crucian carp, is a type of wild goldfish or related cyprinid endemic to Japan. Its habitat is limited to Lake Biwa, its tributaries and distributaries, and irrigation canals, in the Shiga Prefecture, northeast of Kyoto.
Acheilognathus macropterus is a species of cyprinid fish native to China and northern Vietnam. It grows to a length of 27.5 centimetres (10.8 in) SL.
Rhinogobius flumineus, commonly known as the lizard goby or kawa-yoshinobori, is a species of goby endemic to Japan where it is found in the mid- to upper reaches of fast-flowing rivers. This species can reach a length of 7 centimetres (2.8 in) TL.
The Tokyo bitterling is a temperate freshwater fish of the carp family (Cyprinidae). Taxonomically, it belongs to the subfamily Acheilognathinae.
Shuanglianpi Wetland is a partially protected natural area in Yilan County in northern Taiwan. Situated 470 meters above sea-level, it contains a botanically rich, shallow lake, which, from the perspective of plant species density, is considered to be a wetland with global significance by the Forestry Bureau of Taiwan.