''Lepidocephalus'' is a genus of loaches native to rivers in the Southeast Asian countries of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

, north east

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Members of this genus are known as "spirit loaches".Deein, G., Tangjitjaroen, W. & Page, L.M. (2014)
A revision of the spirit loaches, genus ''Lepidocephalus'' (Cypriniformes, Cobitidae).
''Zootaxa, 3779 (3): 341–352.'' They resemble the related kuhli loaches and ''

Lepidocephalichthys ''Lepidocephalichthys'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cobitidae. Species There are currently 18 recognized species in this genus:Kottelat, M. (2012)Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cyprin ...

'' loaches (some species in the latter genus were formerly placed in ''Lepidocephalus''), but are more robust and generally found deep in large rivers. With little or no light in their habitat, their eyes and pigmentation are reduced to various extent. One species, ''L. spectrum'', completely lacks pigment and eyes, similar to

cavefish Cavefish or cave fish is a generic term for fresh and brackish water fish adapted to life in caves and other underground habitats. Related terms are subterranean fish, troglomorphic fish, troglobitic fish, stygobitic fish, phreatic fish and ...

. They are generally poorly known, but based on the relatively few scientific museum specimens they can reach up to in standard length.

Species

There are currently 5 recognized species in this genus. * ''

Lepidocephalus macrochir ''Lepidocephalus'' is a genus of loaches native to rivers in the Southeast Asian countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand and Manipur, north east India. Members of this genus are known as "spirit loaches".Deein, G., Tangjitjaroen, W. & Page ...

'' Bleeker, 1854 (Indonesian spirit loach) * '' Lepidocephalus nanensis'' Deein, Tangjitjaroen &

Page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

, 2014 (Thai spirit loach) * '' Lepidocephalus pallens'' Vaillant, 1902 (Pallid spirit loach) * '' Lepidocephalus pahangensis'' de Beaufort, 1933 (Pahang spirit loach) * '' Lepidocephalus spectrum'' T. R. Roberts, 1989 (Blind spirit loach)

References

Cobitidae {{Cobitidae-stub