Life habits and morphological characteristics of oil fish Yunnan pomfret (Dianchi Red Tip Oil Fish)

Yunnan pomfret (Xenocypris yunnanensis) belongs to the order Cypriniformes, the family Cyprinidae, the subfamily Xenocypris, and the genus Xenocypris. Commonly known as: oily fish. English name: Kunming nase.

Endangerment level: Endangered.

The body is long, slightly flattened laterally, and the abdomen is round. The ventral rib extends from the end of the pelvic fin to the anus. The muzzle is short and blunt. The nostrils are closer to the eyes than to the tip of the snout. Eye side superior position. The mouth is small, with a transverse cleft, and the lower jaw has a well-developed horny edge. The upper jaw is thick and slightly protruding, and the lower lip is very thin. No need. The lateral line is slightly downward curved. Lateral line scales 72-77. The dorsal fin has smooth hard spines on the rear edge, and the starting points of the dorsal and pelvic fins are opposite; the thoracic, abdominal and anal fins are all short; the caudal fin is forked. In life, the back is gray-black, and the sides and belly are silvery white. The dorsal fin is gray, the anal fin is light red, and the caudal fin is orange-red.

It likes to live in waters with clear water quality, high transparency and high dissolved oxygen, and mostly moves in the middle and lower layers of the water body. It has a mixed diet, in addition to eating zooplankton, it also eats algae and organic debris. The spawning period is from May to June, and they breed on gravel beaches along the coast. The eggs adhere to gravel and hatch.

Yunnan pomfret is endemic to my country and is only distributed in Dianchi Lake, Yunnan. The individual is not large, and the body length is generally 120-200 mm. Growth is slower. It is well-known on the banks of Dianchi Lake for its tender meat and delicious taste. In early winter, fat accumulates around the intestines, so it is called "oil fish". Since the 1970s, the land reclamation of Dianchi Lake has led to the destruction of its habitat and breeding sites, water pollution, overfishing and excessive fishing, and the introduction of a large number of small miscellaneous fish with high vitality and fecundity that inadvertently devoured its eggs. Affected by factors, the resources of Yunnan pomfret have declined sharply. Currently, they can only be seen occasionally during the fishing season.

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