''Neosalanx tangkahkeii'', the Chinese icefish or short-snout icefish, is a species of icefish

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to fresh and

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

waters in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Despite its common name it is not the only icefish in China; the majority of the species in this family are found in the country. ''Neosalanx tangkahkeii'' is widely fished. In addition to being eaten in Asia, it is exported to southern Europe as a replacement of the more expensive

transparent goby ''Aphia minuta'', the transparent goby, is a species of the goby native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it can be found from Trondheim, Norway to Morocco. It is also found in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is a pel ...

, a Mediterranean species used in the local cuisine. This replacement is often done openly, but sometimes it is done fraudulently.

Appearance

''Neosalanx tangkahkeii'' reached up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

. They have a smooth, scale-less body, except the male has a thin line of scales at the tail base. The body is a white opaque color and the head is transparent.

Conservation status

''Neosalanx tangkahkeii'' is a widespread species and among others found in the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

and

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

basins. In some parts of its range it is a relatively low-density species and in a survey of the five freshwater icefish species in the Yangtze, it was the least widespread and frequent. In some regions it has declined due to habitat loss, pollution and

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 ...

. Despite this the species is not considered threatened overall, being rated as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

As an introduced species

It is one of three icefish species (the others are '' N. pseudotaihuensis'' and '' Protosalanx'') that has been introduced to several parts of China where not naturally found. Most of these attempted introductions failed, but some were successful. In the

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

lakes some attempts were successful and ''N. tangkahkeii'' is now often the most common fish species in them. Feeding on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

ic crustaceans and tiny fish, ''N. tangkahkeii'' has outcompeted certain native fish in these lakes, which have become rare and threatened.

References

tangkahkeii Endemic fauna of China Fish of China Fish described in 1931 {{Osmeriformes-stub