The golden mandarin fish (''Siniperca scherzeri''), also known as the leopard mandarin fish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

, an Asian perch from the

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

Sinipercidae Sinipercidae, the Chinese perches or Oriental perches, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes , part of the superfamiy Percoidea, suborder Percoidei of the order Perciformes.They have been placed within the temperate perch family, Percichth ...

, which is native to eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(

Korea 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 People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

). This species can reach at least in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

and in weight. It is typically yellowish-brown with blackish-brown speckles ("leopard"), but there are also bright yellow ("golden") individuals, which are particularly prized in Korea and selectively bred in captivity. It is a

commercially Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...

important fish, but has declined due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

.Liu, L.; X.-F. Liang; and J. Fang (2017). The optimal stocking density for hybrid of Siniperca chuatsi (♀) × Siniperca scherzeri (♂) mandarin fish fed minced prey fish. Aquaculture Research 48(3): 1342–1345. It is

farmed Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

; typically using pure specimens, but sometimes involving hybrids with the faster-growing mandarin fish (''

Siniperca chuatsi ''Siniperca chuatsi'', the mandarin fish (,), is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Sinipercidae, the Oriental perches. It is the type species of the genus ''Siniperca'' (Chinese perches). Description ''Siniperca chautsi'' h ...

'').

Danyang County Danyang County (''Danyang-gun'') is in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea. Symbols *County tree: Yew tree *County bird: Magpie *County flower: Royal Azalea Geography The geographical terrain is 83.7% mountainous and 11.2% cultivable. It is ...

, North Chungcheong Province organizes a fishing festival for golden mandarin fish every April.

References

Siniperca Fish of Asia Fish of China Fish of Korea Fish described in 1892 {{Perciformes-stub