''Larimichthys polyactis'', called the redlip croaker, small yellow croaker, little yellow croaker or yellow corvina, is a species of
croaker native to the western Pacific, generally in temperate waters such as the
East China Sea
The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...
and the
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea.
Names
It is one of four ...
.
Evolution
Phylogenomic studies indicate this species emerged from the same
common ancestor
Common descent is a concept in evolutionary biology applicable when one species is the ancestor of two or more species later in time. According to modern evolutionary biology, all living beings could be descendants of a unique ancestor commonl ...
of ''
L. crocea'' around 25.4 million years ago.
Diet
They are
benthopelagic feeders that usually eat shrimp,
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...
, or sometimes small fishes.
Habitat
They remain in shallow waters above 120 m, but avoid brackish conditions. They are typically found where the sea floor is sand or mud.
Morphology
Males can reach 42 cm while the common length is about 30 cm. Their body shape is almost rectangular. They have red lips, grey gold body, gold belly and light yellow fins. The inside of its mouth is white and the gill slit is black. In its head are two hard, pale, white bones that keep balance when they swim, which is also used as a material for medicine. They can make noise by moving their air bladder in order not to scatter.
Behavior
They have a habit of leaping above the sea. In winter, they move to warm water. The breeding season is from March to June. Usually they spawn 30,000 to 70,000 eggs.
Relation to humans
Once an abundant commercial fish off the coasts of China, Korea and Japan, its population collapsed in the 1970s 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 stocks, fish stock), resu ...
. Global catch later rebounded, with 388,018 t landed in 2008.
Salted and dried, they are a food product known as ''gulbi'' () in Korean.
Yeonggwang gulbi is a prized delicacy, selling for over $100 a bunch.
Gallery
File:HK 南區 Southern District 香港仔 Aberdeen Centre 南寧街 Nam Ning Street shop 百佳超級市場 ParknShop Supermarket March 2022 Px3 23.jpg, Sold in Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
File:Gulbi.png, Korean ''gulbi''
File:Dried yellow croaker (20241102).jpg
File:Gulbi (Larimichthys polyactis).jpg
File:Gulbi-gui.png
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q1072528
polyactis
Commercial fish
Fish of the Pacific Ocean
Fish described in 1877
Fish of Korea