The Amur, or Heilong Jiang, is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China. The Amur proper is 2,824 kilometres (1,755 mi) long, and has a drainage basin of 1,855,000 km2 (716,000 sq mi). Including its source river Argun, it is 4,444 km (2,761 mi) long. The largest fish species in the Amur is the kaluga, attaining a length as great as 5.6 metres (18 ft). The river basin is home to a variety of large predatory fish such as northern snakehead, Amur pike, taimen, Amur catfish, predatory carp and yellowcheek, as well as the northernmost populations of the Amur softshell turtle and Indian lotus.
The grass carp is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian border. This Asian carp is the only species of the genus Ctenopharyngodon.
Thymallus is a genus of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae; it is the only genus of subfamily Thymallinae. The type species is Thymallus thymallus, the grayling. The species in the genus are generically called graylings, but without qualification this also refers specifically to T. thymallus.
The kaluga, also known as the river beluga, is a large predatory sturgeon found in the Amur River basin. With a maximum size of at least 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) and 5.6 m (18.6 ft), the kaluga is one of the biggest of the sturgeon family. Like the slightly larger beluga, it spends part of its life in salt water. Unlike the beluga, this fish has 5 major rows of dermal scutes and feeds on salmon and other fish in the Amur. They have gray-green to black backs with a yellowish green-white underbelly.
The Amur pike, also known as the blackspotted pike, is a pike native to the Amur River system in east Asia, as well as freshwater habitat on the island of Sakhalin. Closely related to the northern pike, it reaches a length of 115 cm, a weight of 12.5 kg (28 lb), sporting a silvery body with small, black spots. Like other pike, this species is prized for sport fishing.
Barbels are group of small carp-like freshwater fish, almost all of the genus Barbus. They are usually found in gravel and rocky-bottomed slow-flowing waters with high dissolved oxygen content. A typical adult barbel can range from 25 to 100 cm in length and weigh between 200 g and 10 kg, although weights of 200 g are more common. Babies weigh 100–150 g.
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of salinity. To survive fresh water, the fish need a range of physiological adaptations.
Megalobrama is a genus of cyprinid fish, consisting of six species native to fresh water in China and eastern Russia. The name is derived from the Greek word megalos, meaning "great", and the Old French word breme, a type of freshwater fish.
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.
The San Francisco Estuary together with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta represents a highly altered ecosystem. The region has been heavily re-engineered to accommodate the needs of water delivery, shipping, agriculture, and most recently, suburban development. These needs have wrought direct changes in the movement of water and the nature of the landscape, and indirect changes from the introduction of non-native species. New species have altered the architecture of the food web as surely as levees have altered the landscape of islands and channels that form the complex system known as the Delta.
The Chinese sleeper, also known as the Amur sleeper, is a species of freshwater sleeper native to Amur River basin in eastern Asia with introduced populations in other regions of Eurasia. It is currently the only known member of its genus.
Cyprinus rubrofuscus, the Amur carp, is a species of cyprinid fish, and is the wild form of the well-known koi. It is widespread in the fresh waters of eastern Asia, native to China, Vietnam and Laos from the Amur to Red River basins, and has also been introduced outside its native range. It is known for its muddy flavor and boniness, hence, it is not commonly eaten by locals except when stewed.
The round-tailed paradise fish is a species of gourami native to eastern Asia, where it is found in Korea and China. It is also found in Japan but it is believed that they were introduced from Korea in the 1910s. It is also known to occur in the Amur Basin of Russia, but that is believed to be due to introductions. It inhabits many kinds of freshwater habitats within its range. This species is reported to be well adapted to cold weather during winter in its relatively northern range, even to the point of remaining active when their body of water is covered with ice. This species grows to a standard length of 6.2 cm (2.4 in), and can be found in the aquarium trade.
The Amur sculpin is a species of freshwater sculpin native to eastern Asia where it is found in Russia, China and Mongolia - in the Amur River basin and some adjacent territories. The Amur sculpin grows to a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) TL. This species is the only known member of its genus. According to the result of a pilot phylogenetic analysis, the freshwater Mesocottus is a sister lineage to the Cottus clade.
Macropodus is a genus of small to medium-sized labyrinth fish native to freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. Most species are restricted to southern China and Vietnam, but M. opercularis occurs as far north as the Yangtze basin, and M. ocellatus occurs north to the Amur River, as well as in Japan and Korea. In China, they are often used for fights, so they are named Chinese bettas because of their similarity to the genus Betta. A few species in the genus are regularly seen in the aquarium trade, and M. opercularis has been introduced to regions far outside its native range.
The Amur minnow or Lagowski's minnow is an Asian species of small freshwater cyprinid fish. It is found from the Lena and Amur rivers in the north to the Yangtze in China in the south, and in Japan.
The spotted steed is a species of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found throughout the Amur basin in eastern Asia to China, the Korean peninsula, and Japan. Currently, little research has been done regarding this species, therefore, information regarding it is limited. The common name of this freshwater fish is the spotted steed. Its scientific name is Hemibarbus maculatus. Hemibarbus is from ancient Greek and means "half". Maculatus, is Latin and means "spotted".
The Amur whitefish is a species of freshwater whitefish. It can withstand significant salinity levels. It reaches a maximum size of 60 cm (24 in), with a maximum weight of 2 kg (4.4 lb). Its life expectancy is 10 to 11 years. The Amur whitefish is usually eaten salted or smoked.
