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Eurasian Minnow




  Name Eurasian Minnow
  Regnum Animal ia
  Phylum Chordata
  Classis Actinopterygii
  Ordo Cypriniformes
  Familia Cyprinidae
  Genus '' Phoxinus ''
  Species '''''P phoxinus'''''
  Binomial ''Phoxinus phoxinus''
  Binomial Authority ( Linnaeus , 1758 )


The Eurasian minnow (''Phoxinus phoxinus'') is a Species of
Freshwater Fish . It is a member of the Carp
Family (family Cyprinidae ) of
Order Cypriniformes , and is the Type Species of
Genus '' Phoxinus .'' It is ubiquitous throughout much of Eurasia ,
from Britain and Spain to eastern Siberia , predominantly in cold
(12–20 °C) streams and well-oxygenated lakes and ponds. It is
noted for being a gregarious species, shoaling in large numbers.

The species is of drab coloration and unremarkable appearance, although the
Males display a red belly during the spawning season. It reaches a maximum
overall length of 14 cm.

This fish is the archetypal Minnow , and is also known as the common or
European minnow. It is known by a great variety of names in the various
languages spoken across its range: the French ''grisette,''
the German ''Elritze,'' the Russian
''гольян'' (''gol'jan''), etc. There are
also many obsolete Binomial synonyms; the original
name assigned by Linnaeus was ''Cyprinus phoxinus.''

The Eurasian minnow is used commercially primarily as bait; it is also
important in laboratory research. This is due to its stereotypical fishlike qualities. They are also some of the slowest fish.


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