Wikipedia
Misgurnus
Misgurnus is a genus of true loaches found in Europe and Asia. The origin of the name Misgurnus comes from the Greek word miseo (to hate) and the Turkish gür (loud), a name given to them due to their habit of becoming very active during barometric pressure changes that occur during thunderstorms. The common names, weather loach or weatherfish, also derive from this behavior. Some species of misgurnus are eaten, mostly in Asia, and are also sold as pets in the aquarium trade. Their average size can range from 6 to over 12 inches.
| Misgurnus | |
|---|---|
| Misgurnus fossilis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cobitidae |
| Genus: | Misgurnus Lacepède, 1803 |
| Type species | |
| Cobitis fossilis Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species edit
There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:[1]
- Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor, 1842) (pond loach, oriental weatherfish)
- Misgurnus buphoensis R. T. Kim & S. Y. Park, 1995
- Misgurnus fossilis (Linnaeus, 1758) (weatherfish)
- Misgurnus mohoity (Dybowski, 1869)
- Misgurnus multimaculatus Rendahl (de), 1944
- Misgurnus nikolskyi Vasil'eva, 2001
- Misgurnus tonkinensis Rendahl (de), 1937
See also edit
- Paramisgurnus dabryanus, a closely related species
- Cobitis taenia, sometimes called "spotted weather loach"
References edit
- ^ Kottelat, M. (2012): Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei). 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 26: 1-199.