• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.239-248
• /
• 2016

The habitat, age and spawning characteristics of the Korean eastern spined loach, Iksookimia yongdokensis, were investigated to obtain baseline data for its ecological characteristics in the Chuksancheon (stream), Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. The difference between the habitats of juveniles (0+) and 1~4 year old loaches was that juveniles mainly inhabited sandy bottoms (substratum particle size $0.6{\pm}1.44\;cm$) with very slow velocities of water current ($2.4{\pm}2.09\;cm/sec$) and low depths ($29.2{\pm}7.57\;cm$), whereas 1~4 year old loaches inhabited pebble and cobble bottoms (substratum particle size 5.5~6.1 cm) with relatively fast velocities of water current (3.8~4.6 cm/sec) and deep depths (50~70 cm). The age groups for I. yongdokensis (female) estimated by the frequency distribution of total length in the spawning season (July) indicated that the 35~64 mm is 1-year old, the 65~94 mm group is 2-year old, the 95~119 mm is 3-year old, and the 120~145 mm is more than 4-year old. The sex ratio (♂/♀) was 0.69, and females were 10~30 mm larger than males. The lamina circularis at the base of the pectoral fins in males, a secondary sexual characteristic, formed at the 13th month after hatching. The spawning season according to the gonadosomatic index (GSI) was June to July with water temperatures of $20{\sim}25^{\circ}C$. The average number of eggs was $2,292{\pm}618$, with a diameter of $1.46{\pm}0.02\;mm$ for mature eggs.