| Misgurnus | |
|---|---|
) | |
| Misgurnus anguillicaudatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cobitidae |
| Genus: | Misgurnus Lacepède, 1803 |
| Type species | |
| Cobitis fossilis Linnaeus, 1758 | |
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.
Species
There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:[1]
- Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Cantor, 1842) (pond loach)
- 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
- Paramisgurnus dabryanus, a closely related species
- Cobitis taenia, sometimes called "spotted weather loach"
References
- ^ Kottelat, M. (2012): Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei). Archived 2013-02-11 at the Wayback Machine The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 26: 1-199.