Kingdom Animalia Order Cypriniformes Scientific name Lavinia Rank Genus | Phylum Chordata Family Cyprinidae Higher classification Cyprinidae | |
Similar Lavinia exilicauda, Cyprinidae, California roach, Mylopharodon conocephalus, Sacramento blackfish | ||
Lavinia is a genus of cyprinid fish consisting of one or two species native to western North America.
While there is little doubt as to the membership of the hitch (L. exilicauda), the position of the closely related California roach is less clear. While FishBase, ITIS, and Taxonomicon all record it as Hesperoleucus symmetricus, Moyle observes hybrids of the two species are fertile, the genetic relationship is also close, and the older genus Lavinia should take precedence.
The origin of the genus name is the mythological Lavinia, although the rationale is unclear.
References
Lavinia (fish) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA