Sarcocheilichthys variegatus - Sarcocheilichthys variegatus

Japanese: ヒガイ(鰉) - ヒガイ（英語表記）Sarcocheilichthys variegatus

A freshwater fish of the Cyprinidae family. The Japanese character for '鰉' is said to be a reference to Emperor Meiji's fondness for this fish. It has a long, spindle-shaped body and is slightly laterally compressed. A species endemic to Japan, it was naturally found in Honshu west of Aichi Prefecture and northern Kyushu, but due to migration it now breeds in the Tone River system in the Kanto region, Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, and the Kitakami River in the Tohoku region. It lives on the gravel bottoms of lakes and slow-flowing rivers. It feeds on small bottom-dwelling animals. It spawns from April to June. During the breeding season, males show nuptial colors and a feeding star, and females produce an ovipositor, which they insert into the mantle cavity (the gap between the left and right mantles) of live bivalve shells such as the Anodont mussel, the Marudobu mussel, and the Union mussel to spawn.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

コイ目コイ科の淡水魚。国字の鰉は明治天皇が賞味したのにちなんだといわれる。細長い紡錘形で，やや側扁する。日本特産種で天然の分布は愛知県以西の本州と九州北部であったが，移殖により現在では関東地方の利根川水系，長野県の諏訪湖および東北地方の北上川などにも繁殖している。湖や流れの緩やかな川の砂れき底にすむ。餌は底生の小動物。産卵期は4～6月。繁殖期の雄は，婚姻色と追星（おいぼし）を現し，雌には産卵管を生じ，それをドブガイ，マルドブガイ，イシガイなどの生きた二枚貝の外套（がいとう）腔(左右の外套膜の隙間)にさし込み産卵する習性がある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

<<: Victim - Higaisha

>>: Beaker - beaker (English spelling)