- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Nakdong spotted loach silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Nakdong spotted loach
Koreocobitis naktongensis (Nakdong spotted loach · Nakdong spotted loach)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
🇰🇷 Class I endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A body length of about 16.8 cm is longer than a ballpoint pen (about 14 cm) and shorter than the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 24.3 g is about half that of a chicken egg (about 50 to 60 g) (Comparison).
- 💡 The National List of Species of Korea notes concerns over overfishing because it is used as a food fish.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Nakdong spotted loach is a freshwater cobitid fish found only in the Nakdong River basin, with distinct irregular blotches over its body.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is nearly cylindrical, with thick fleshy lips and 3 pairs of barbels around the mouth. It has a spine beneath the eye, and black blotches are scattered over a yellow ground color.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It lives under gravel and stones in fast-flowing riffles and feeds at night on aquatic insects such as mayfly and chironomid larvae. There are also records indicating that it feeds mainly on attached algae on stones.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is a Class I endangered wildlife (Korea) species and a Korean endemic found only in the Nakdong River basin. The National List of Species of Korea notes that it is at high risk of overfishing because it is used for food.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅰ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057664 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057664
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • Korean protection status: Class I endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3RD69
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057664 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057664
- • wikidata.org — Q6424401
- • fishbase.se — Koreocobitis-naktongensis.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — list
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.