''Cobitis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of small

freshwater fish 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 s ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cobitidae Cobitidae, also known as the True loaches, is a family of Old World freshwater fish. They occur throughout Eurasia and in Morocco, and inhabit riverine ecosystems. Today, most " loaches" are placed in other families (see below). The family includ ...

from

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

and subtropical

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

. It contains the "typical spiny

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species ...

es", including the well-known

spined loach The spined loach (''Cobitis taenia'') is a common freshwater fish in Europe. It is sometimes known as spotted weather loach, not to be confused with the "typical" weather loaches of the genus '' Misgurnus''. This is the type species of the spiny ...

of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally south of the range of ''Cobitis'', are nowadays separated in ''

Sabanejewia The golden loaches (''Sabanejewia'') are a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. Species There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * '' Sabanejewia aurata'' ( De Filippi, 1863) ** '' Sabanejewia aurata aralensis'' ( Ke ...

''.Perdices, A., Bohlen, J. & Doadrio, I. (2008)
The molecular diversity of adriatic spined loaches (Teleostei, Cobitidae).
''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 46 (1): 382–390.''

Species

There are currently 96 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Cobitis amphilekta ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Vasil'eva & Vasil'ev, 2012 (Khvalyn spined loach) Vasil'eva, E.D. & Vasil'ev, V.P. (2012)
''Cobitis amphilekta'' sp. nova, a New Species of Spined Loaches (Cobitidae, Cypriniformes) from the Caspian Sea Basin.
''Journal of Ichthyology, 52 (3): 200–206.'' * ''

Cobitis arachthosensis ''Cobitis arachthosensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the true loach family (Cobitidae). It is endemic to Greece. It belongs to the subgenus ''Bicanestrinia'', together with '' C. hellenica'', '' C. meridionalis'', and '' C. trichonica'' ...

'' Economidis &

Nalbant Nalbant is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Nalbant, Nicolae Bălcescu (since 1948; until 1923 ''Bașchioi''; '' Principele Mihai'' from 1923 to 1948) and Trestenic. The commune's name comes ...

, 1996 * ''

Cobitis arenae ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' ( S. Y. Lin, 1934) * ''

Cobitis australis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Y. X. Chen, Y. F. Chen & D. K. He, 2013 Chen, Y.-X., Chen, Y.-F. & He, D.-K. (2013): A new species of spined loach (Osteichthyes, Cobitidae) from the Pearl River, Guangxi of China. ''Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 38 (2): 377-387.'' * ''

Cobitis avicennae ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Mousavi-Sabet, Vatandoust, Esmaeili,

Geiger Geiger may refer to: People *Geiger (surname) Places * Geiger, Alabama, a town * Geiger (crater), a lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon * Geiger, South Sudan, a border town filled with refugees Other * Geiger counter, a device ...

& Freyhof, 2015 (Zagros spined loach) Mousavi-Sabet, H., Vatandoust, S., Esmaeili, H.R., Geiger, M.F. & Freyhof, J. (2015)
''Cobitis avicennae'', a new species of spined loach from the Tigris River drainage (Teleostei: Cobitidae).
''Zootaxa, 3914 (5): 558–568.'' * ''

Cobitis baishagensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Y. X. Chen, X. Y. Sui, N. Liang & Y. F. Chen, 2015 Chen, Y., Sui, X., Liang, N. & Chen, Y. (2015)
Two new species of the genus ''Cobitis'' Linnaeus (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from southern China.
''Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 34 (3): 517–525.'' * ''

Cobitis battalgili ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Băcescu, 1962 (Battalgil's spined loach) * ''

Cobitis bilineata ''Cobitis bilineata'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae found in Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland. Its natural habitats are intermittent rivers and freshwater marshes. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN. R ...

'' Canestrini, 1865 * ''

Cobitis bilseli ''Cobitis bilseli'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae found only in Turkey. Its natural habitats are rivers and freshwater lakes. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habit ...

'' Battalgil, 1942 (Beyşehir spined loach) * ''

Cobitis biwae ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1901 * ''

Cobitis brevifasciata ''Cobitis brevifasciata'' is a species of loach endemic to the Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic ...

'' ( I. S. Kim & W. O. Lee, 1995) Perdices, A., Bohlen, J., Šlechtová, V. & Doadrio, I. (2016)
Molecular Evidence for Multiple Origins of the European Spined Loaches (Teleostei, Cobitidae).
''PLoS ONE, 11 (1): e0144628.'' * ''

Cobitis calderoni ''Cobitis calderoni'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It is found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat red ...

'' Băcescu, 1962 * ''

Cobitis choii ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' I. S. Kim & Y. M. Son, 1984 (Choi's spined loach) * '' Cobitis crassicauda'' Y. X. Chen & Y. F. Chen, 2013 Chen, Y. & Chen, Y. (2013)
Three new species of cobitid fish (Teleostei, Cobitidae) from the River Xinjiang and the River Le’anjiang, tributaries of Lake Poyang of China, with remarks on their classification.
''Folia Zoologica, 62 (2): 83-95.'' * ''

Cobitis dalmatina ''Cobitis dalmatina'' ( hr, Cetinski vijun) is a species of ray-finned fish in the true loach family (Cobitidae). It is endemic to Croatia.Crivelli (2005) This fish was long believed to be part of the widespread Spined Loach (''C. taenia''). Cl ...

'' S. L. Karaman, 1928 * ''

Cobitis damlae ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Erk' Akan & Özdemir, 2014 (Dalaman spined loach) Erkakan, F. & Özdemir, F. (2014)
The first new cave fish species, ''Cobitis damlae'' (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from Turkey.
''Hacettepe Journal of Biology and Chemistry, 42 (2): 275–279.'' * ''

Cobitis delicata ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

Niwa The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scienc ...

, 1937 * ''

Cobitis dolichorhynchus ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

Nichols Nichols may refer to: People *Nichols (surname) * Nichol, a surname Places Canada * Nichols Islands, Nunavut United States * Nichols, California, an unincorporated community * Nichols Canyon, Los Angeles, California * Nichols, Connecticut * N ...

, 1918 * ''

Cobitis dorademiri ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Erk' Akan, Özdemir & Özeren, 2017 Erkakan, F., Özdemir, F. & Özeren, S.C. (2017)
Two new species of the genus ''Cobitis'' Linnaeus (Teleostei: Cobitidae) from Turkey.
''FishTaxa, 2 (2): 82-89.'' * '' Cobitis elazigensis'' Coad & Sarıeyyüpoglu, 1988 (Tigris spined loach) * ''

Cobitis elongata ''Cobitis elongata'' (Balkan loach) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It is found in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, and Turkey Turkey ( tr, T� ...

'' Heckel & Kner, 1857 * ''

Cobitis elongatoides ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Băcescu & R. F. Mayer, 1969 * ''

Cobitis evreni ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Erk' Akan, Özeren &

, 2008 (Ceyhan spined loach) * ''

Cobitis fahireae ''Cobitis fahireae'' is a species of loach endemic to Turkey where it occurs in intermittent river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen ...

'' Erk' Akan, Ekmekçi &

, 1998 (Küçük Menderes spined loach) * ''

Cobitis faridpaki ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Mousavi-Sabet, Vasil'eva, Vatandoust & Vasil'ev, 2011 Mousavi-Sabet, H., Vasil'eva, E.D., Vatandoust, S. & Vasil'ev, V.P. (2011)
''Cobitis faridpaki'' sp. nova — a New Spined Loach Species (Cobitidae) from the Southern Caspian Sea Basin (Iran).
''Journal of Ichthyology, 51 (10): 925–931.'' * ''

Cobitis fasciola ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family (biology), family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known Cobitis taenia, spined loach of Europe. Similar sp ...

'' Y. X. Chen & Y. F. Chen, 2013 * ''

Cobitis gracilis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Y. X. Chen & Y. F. Chen, 2016 Chen, Y. & Chen, Y. (2016)
A new species of the genus ''Cobitis'' (Cypriniformes: Cobitidae) from the Northeast China.
''Zoological Systematics, 41 (4): 379-391.'' * ''

Cobitis guttatus ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' ( V. H. Nguyễn, 2005) * ''

Cobitis hankugensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' I. S. Kim, J. Y. Park, Y. M. Son &

, 2003 * ''

Cobitis hellenica ''Cobitis hellenica'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the true loach family (Cobitidae). It is endemic to Greece.Crivelli (2005b) It belongs to the subgenus ''Bicanestrinia'', together with '' C. arachthosensis'', '' C. meridionalis'' and '' ...

'' Economidis &

, 1996 * ''

Cobitis hereromacula ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Y. X. Chen, X. Y. Sui, N. Liang & Y. F. Chen, 2015 * ''

Cobitis herzegoviniensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Buj & Šanda, 2014 Buj, I., Šanda, R., Marčić, Z., Ćaleta, M. & Mrakovčić, M. (2014)
Combining Morphology and Genetics in Resolving Taxonomy – A Systematic Revision of Spined Loaches (Genus ''Cobitis''; Cypriniformes, Actinopterygii) in the Adriatic Watershed.
''PLoS ONE, 9 (6): e99833.'' * ''

Cobitis hugowolfeldi ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' (

, 1993) * ''

Cobitis illyrica ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Freyhof & Stelbrink, 2007 * ''

Cobitis jadovaensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Mustafić & Mrakovčić, 2008 * ''

Cobitis kaibarai ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Nakajima, 2012 Nakajima, J. (2012)
Taxonomic study of the ''Cobitis striata'' complex (Cypriniformes, Cobitidae) in Japan.
''Zootaxa, 3586: 103–130.'' * ''

Cobitis kellei ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Erk' Akan, Ekmekçi &

, 1998 (Göksu spined loach) * ''

Cobitis koreensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' I. S. Kim, 1975 * ''

Cobitis laoensis ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' (

Sauvage Sauvage, French for "savage" may refer to: ; as a surname: * Catherine Sauvage (1929–1998), a French singer and actress * Cyrille Sauvage (born 1973), a French racing driver * Frédéric Sauvage (1786–1857), a French boat builder who carried ...

, 1878) * ''

Cobitis laterimaculata ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' J. P. Yan & M. L. Zheng, 1984 * ''

Cobitis lebedevi ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Vasil'eva & Vasil'ev, 1985 * ''

Cobitis levantina ''Cobitis levantina'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It is found in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Its natural habitats are rivers, intermittent rivers, and irrigated land. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat d ...

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krupp ...

& Moubayed-Breil, 1992 (Orontes spined loach) * ''

Cobitis linea ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' ( Heckel, 1847) * ''

Cobitis longibarba ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' ( Y. F. Chen & Y. X. Chen, 2005) * ''

Cobitis longicorpus ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' I. S. Kim, K. C. Choi &

, 1976 * ''

Cobitis lutheri ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Rendahl ( de), 1935 (Luther's spined loach) * '' Cobitis macrostigma'' Dabry de Thiersant, 1872 * ''

Cobitis magnostriata ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

'' Nakajima, 2012 * ''

Cobitis maroccana ''Cobitis maroccana'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. Taxonomy The taxonomy of the Cobitis marrocana is as follows: *Kingdom-Animalia *Phylum-Chordata *Class-Actinopterygii *Order-Cypriniformes *Family-Cobitidae Bi ...

'' Pellegrin, 1929 * ''

Cobitis matsubarai ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family (biology), family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known Cobitis taenia, spined loach of Europe. Similar sp ...

Okada Okada (written: 岡田 literally "hill rice-paddy") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the name include: * , Japanese painter * Doris Okada Matsui, American politician of the Democratic Party * , Japanese painter in the Edo period * , Japa ...

Ikeda Ikeda may refer to: * Ikeda (surname), a Japanese surname * Ikeda (comics), a character in ''Usagi Yojimbo'' * Ikeda clan, a Japanese clan * Ikeda map, chaotic attractor * ''Ikeda'' (annelid) a genus of the family Ikedidae Places * Ikeda, Osaka i ...

, 1939 * ''

Cobitis megaspila ''Cobitis megaspila'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It is found in Moldova and Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It border ...

, 1993 * ''

Cobitis melanoleuca ''Cobitis'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cobitidae from temperate and subtropical Eurasia. It contains the "typical spiny loaches", including the well-known spined loach of Europe. Similar spiny loaches, occurring generally ...

, 1925 * ''

Cobitis meridionalis ''Cobitis meridionalis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. It is found in Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes. It is threatened by habitat loss. References