Leptobotia elongata

Leptobotia elongata, the imperial flower loach, elongate loach or royal clown loach, is a species of botiid fish found in flowing water in the upper and middle Yangtze basin in China.[1][2][3] It is the largest species in the family, reaching up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) in length and 3 kg (6.6 lb) in weight.[4][5] Formerly common, the numbers of this vulnerable species have declined because of overfishing, dams (limiting its breeding migration), habitat loss and pollution.[1] The species is bred in captivity and a stocking project has been in place since 2010.[5][6] It is sometimes kept in aquariums, but require a very large tank.[2][3]

Leptobotia elongata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Botiidae
Genus: Leptobotia
Species:
L. elongata
Binomial name
Leptobotia elongata
(Bleeker, 1870)
Synonyms
  • Botia elongata Bleeker, 1870
  • Botia citrauratea Nichols, 1925

Adults migrate upstream to spawn between March to May.[4] They have been recorded feeding on fish, shrimp, gammarids, benthic invertebrates, aquatic insect larvae, mollusks, plankton and phytodetritus.[5] The feeding preference depends on size: Individuals less than 11 cm (4.3 in) long mainly take benthic invertebrates and aquatic insect larvae, while larger individuals mainly feed on fish and shrimp.[5]

References
  1. Huckstorf, V. (2013). "Leptobotia elongata". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2013: e.T166035A1107235. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T166035A1107235.en. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  2. SeriouslyFish: Leptobotia elongata. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  3. Loaches Online: Leptobotia elongata. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Leptobotia elongata" in FishBase. March 2017 version.
  5. Li, L.; Q. Wei Wei; J. Ming Wu; H. Zhang; Y. Liu; & X. Xie (2015). Diet of Leptobotia elongata revealed by stomach content analysis and inferred from stable isotope signatures. Environ Biol Fish 98: 1965–1978. doi:10.1007/s10641-015-0414-4.
  6. Yang, K.; Zeng, R.; Gan, W.; Deng, L.; and Song, Z. (2016). Otolith fluorescent and thermal marking of elongate loach (Leptobotia elongata) at early life stages. Environ Biol Fish 99: 8-9. doi:10.1007/s10641-016-0509-6.
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