''Sinorhodeus microlepis'' (Chinese:细鳞华鳑鲏) is a bitterling native to the

Yangtze river The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

Chongqing City Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

, China, and it is the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''Sinorhodeus''. This species breeds in the

Asian clam ''Corbicula fluminea'' is a species of freshwater clam native to eastern Asia which has become a successful invasive species throughout North America, South America, and Europe. ''Corbicula fluminea'' is commonly known in the west as the Asian cl ...

(''Corbicula fluminea''), which is different from all other bitterling-like cyprinids.

Distribution

The ''Sinorhodeus microlepis'' has a very narrow distribution range, and it is possibly

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

now.

Description

This fish has a very large mouth and can prey on

shrimps Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are referre ...

or tiny fish. Unlike other

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 ...

，the Sinorhodeus microlepis has tiny scales on their body. Male in nuptial color are red, while at other times are wax yellow. The female's body colour is silver. This species can be found in China aquarium trade, where it is called as the 'volcano bitterling'(火山鳑鲏) or 'Southwestern bitterling'（西南鳑鲏）

References

* Acheilognathinae Monotypic fish genera {{Acheilognathinae-stub