- Not to be confused with Rhodeus amurensis
Rhodeus amurensis is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae sub-family of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in the Amur River and Lake Khanka in Asia, and is found in China and Russia. It was originally described as Pseudoperilampus lighti amurensis by B.B...
, whose scientific name literally means "Amur bitterling".
The
Amur Bitterling,
Rhodeus sericeus, is a small
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
of the carp family. It is sometimes just called "bitterling", but this is wrong: for one thing, it dates back to the time when the European Bitterling (
Rhodeus amarusThe European Bitterling, Rhodeus amarus, is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae sub-family of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia...
) was still considered conspecific with
R. sericeus, for another, "bitterling" properly refers to any
speciesIn biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....
in entire
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
RhodeusRhodeus is a genus of cyprinid fish, consisting of 18 species called bitterlings. The scientific name is derived from the Greek word rhodeos, meaning "rose"....
. The Amur Bitterling is found in
SiberiaSiberia , is the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the USSR from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the...
, while the European Bitterling is found from
European RussiaEuropean Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 km², and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural mountains and in the South it is defined by the border with Kazakhstan. This area includes Moscow and St...
westwards.
MusselThe common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s form an essential part of its reproductive system, with bitterling eggs being laid inside them. Long thought to be symbiotic with the mussels (whose larval phase attaches to fish gills during development), recent research has indicated they are in fact parasitic, with co-evolution being seen in Chinese bitterling and mussel species.
Bitterlings usually reside in areas with dense plant growth. They are a hardy fish, and can survive in water that is not very well oxygenated. They grow to be 3-4 in. long at most. The bitterling's diet consists of plant material and small larvae of insects.
Colour Variation
There are 'transparent' scale variants of bitterlings, though not common, if exploited in the aquarium trade.
For photos of transparent variants of bitterlings, please see:
http://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/zsj/15/3/425/_pdf