The Khanka spiny bitterling (''Acanthorhodeus chankaensis'') is a

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 ...

freshwater

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 ...

belonging to the

Acheilognathinae The bitterling-like cyprinids form the cyprinid subfamily Acheilognathinae. This subfamily contains four genera, although the Khanka spiny bitterling is often placed in ''Acheilognathus'', and at least 71 described species to date. Over half of t ...

subfamily of the family Cyprinidae. It originates in the inland rivers in

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 are ...

, and is found in China,

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 ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is currently the only known species in its genus. The fish can grow up to in total length. It lives in a

climate in water with a pH of 7.0, a

hardness In materials science, hardness (antonym: softness) is a measure of the resistance to localized plastic deformation induced by either mechanical indentation or abrasion. In general, different materials differ in their hardness; for example hard ...

of 15 DH, and a temperature range of 18 to 22 °C (64 to 72 °F). It is of commercial importance for fisheries and public aquaria. When spawning, the female deposits the

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

inside bivalves. The young hatch and remain within the bivalve until they can swim.

References

Acanthorhodeus Freshwater fish of Japan Fish of Korea Fish described in 1872 {{Acheilognathinae-stub