''Lepidomeda'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Leuciscidae Leuciscidae is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes, formerly classified as a subfamily of the Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows. Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnow ...

, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. The fishes in this genus are commonly known as the spinedaces, found in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. Of the known species, one is extinct and two are threatened. They appear to be fairly close to the spikedaces in the genus '' Meda'', but the

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

and indeed the validity of the proposed "plagopterin"

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

is insufficiently resolved.

Species

The genus contains these species: * '' Lepidomeda albivallis'' R. R. Miller & C. L. Hubbs, 1960 (White River spinedace) * '' Lepidomeda aliciae'' ( Jouy, 1881) (Southern leatherside chub) * '' Lepidomeda altivelis'' R. R. Miller & C. L. Hubbs, 1960 (Pahranagat spinedace) * '' Lepidomeda copei'' (

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Gilbert, 1881) (Northern leatherside chub) * '' Lepidomeda mollispinis'' R. R. Miller & C. L. Hubbs, 1960 (Virgin spinedace) * '' Lepidomeda vittata''

Cope A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...

, 1874 (Little Colorado spinedace)

References

Plagopterinae Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope {{Leuciscinae-stub