''Rhodeus'' is a genus of

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

, consisting of 23 species called bitterlings. The

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word ', meaning "

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

". Most species in the genus are restricted to Asia, but two species are found in Europe (''R. amarus'' and ''R. meridionalis''). Bitterlings are short-lived species, generally surviving only about five years. Their maximum size is 11 cm, but they are usually much shorter. Bitterlings inhabit slow-flowing or still waters, such as ponds, lakes, marshes, muddy and sandy pools, and river backwaters. Because they depend on freshwater mussels to reproduce, their range is restricted. Bitterlings are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

, feeding on both invertebrates and plants. Bitterlings have a remarkable reproduction strategy where parents transfer responsibility for the care of their young to various species of freshwater mussels (

Unionidae The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids. The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is at its most diverse ...

and

Margaritiferidae Margaritiferidae is a family of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the order Unionida. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)licence. It is the m ...

). The female extends her long

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

into the mantle cavity of the mussel and deposits her eggs between the gill filaments. The male then ejects his sperm into the mussel's inhalent water current and fertilization takes place within the gills of the host. The same female may use a number of mussels, and she deposits only one or two yellow, oval eggs into each. Early developmental stages are protected from predation within the body of the mussel. After 3 to 4 weeks, larvae swim away from the hosts to continue life on their own. In 1936, the bitterling was thought to respond to hormones in a pregnant woman's urine, but the work was later discredited.

Species

This genus and ''

Acheilognathus ''Acheilognathus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish native to Asia. The name is derived from the Greek ''a'', meaning "without", the Greek ''cheilos'', meaning "lip", and the Greek ''gnathos'', meaning "jaw". Morphology Fishes of this genus have l ...

'' have a convoluted

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

history, one being at times included in the other. They are now considered separate, but some species formerly in ''Rhodeus'' are now in ''Acheilognathus''. There are currently 23 recognized species in this genus: *''

Rhodeus albomarginatus ''Rhodeus albomarginatus'' is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus ''Rhodeus''. It is endemic to China, where it is found in the Lvjiang River of the Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in As ...

'' F. Li & R. Arai, 2014 *''

Rhodeus amarus The European bitterling (''Rhodeus amarus'') is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the subfamily Acheilognathinae of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia. ...

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A–F * (1859-1914), French rabbi *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881-1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter * (born 1972), German motor journal ...

, 1782 (European bitterling) *''

Rhodeus amurensis ''Rhodeus amurensis'' is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the Amur River and Lake Khanka in Asia, and is found in China and Russia. It was originally described as ...

'' Vronsky, 1967 *'' Rhodeus atremius'' D. S. Jordan & W. F. Thompson, 1914 (Kyushu bitterling) *'' Rhodeus colchicus'' Bogutskaya & Komlev, 2001 (Georgian bitterling) *''

Rhodeus cyanorostris ''Rhodeus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish, consisting of 23 species called bitterlings. The scientific name is derived from the Greek word ', meaning "rose". Most species in the genus are restricted to Asia, but two species are found in Europe (' ...

'' *''

Rhodeus fangi ''Rhodeus fangi'' is a subtropical freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the Pearl River, Yangtze River in China. It was originally described as ''Pararhodeus fangi'' by C.P. Mi ...

'' C. P. Miao, 1934 *'' Rhodeus haradai'' R. Arai, N. Suzuki & S. C. Shen, 1990 *'' Rhodeus laoensis''

Kottelat Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, SwitzerlandC ...

, A. Doi & Musikasinthorn, 1998 *'' Rhodeus meridionalis'' S. L. Karaman, 1924 *''

Rhodeus monguonensis ''Rhodeus monguonensis'' is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus ''Rhodeus''. It is endemic to China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous cou ...

'' G. L. Li, 1989 *''

Rhodeus ocellatus The rosy bitterling or Tairiku baratanago (''Rhodeus ocellatus'') is a small freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae (carp), native to East Asia from the Amur River basin to the Pearl River (China), Pearl River basin. Females are abou ...

'' Kner, 1866 (rosy bitterling) *'' Rhodeus nigrodorsalis'' *'' Rhodeus pseudosericeus'' R. Arai, S. R. Jeon & Ueda, 2001 *''

Rhodeus rheinardti ''Rhodeus rheinardti'' is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the Perfume River, near Hué, Vietnam. It was originally described as ''Danio rheinardti'' by G. Tiran ...

'' Tirant, 1883 *'' Rhodeus sciosemus'' D. S. Jordan & W. F. Thompson, 1914 *'' Rhodeus sericeus''

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pall ...

, 1776 (Amur bitterling) *''

Rhodeus shitaiensis ''Rhodeus shitaiensis'' is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the genus ''Rhodeus''. It is endemic to China, where it is found in the Qiupu River of the Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, ...

'' F. Li & R. Arai, 2011 *'' Rhodeus sinensis'' Günther, 1868 (Light's bitterling) *''

Rhodeus smithii ''Rhodeus smithii'', sometimes known as the Japanese rosy bitterling, Japanese bitterling, or Nippon baratanago is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in stagnant wat ...

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...

, 1908 *'' Rhodeus spinalis'' Ōshima, 1926 *''

Rhodeus suigensis ''Rhodeus suigensis'' is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originated in inland rivers in Japan and the Korean peninsula. It was originally described as ''Pseudoperilampus sui ...

'' T. Mori, 1935 *'' Rhodeus uyekii'' T. Mori, 1935

Species

References

Further reading