Lavinia (fish)

Lavinia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Lavinia
Girard, 1854
Species

Lavinia exilicauda S. F. Baird & Girard, 1854
and see text

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

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