📸 PhotoPhoto: A. C. Tatarinov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Amur stickleback
Pungitius sinensis (Amur stickleback · トミヨ)
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 An adult female's body length of 9 cm is less than half the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 In Korea, it is a protected species designated as Endangered Wildlife Class II, so it is a fish encountered on conservation lists rather than in markets.
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.
📖 1. Overview
The Amur stickleback is a small fish living in the Korean Peninsula, Japan, the Kuril Islands, the Amur River, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, recorded in freshwater, brackish water, and the sea.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Adult males grow to about 6.5 cm in standard length and females to around 9.0 cm.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
The male builds a nest for spawning, guards the eggs, and fans the nest to supply oxygen.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed as Endangered Wildlife Class II in the National List of Species of Korea (National Institute of Biological Resources), and the Korean Peninsula is part of its range.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List VU (2022) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/19915743/159638809
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000058009 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000058009
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4QHWV
- • iucnredlist.org — 159638809
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000058009 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000058009
- • wikidata.org — Q1041642
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pungitius sinensis.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Pungitius-sinensis.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — general-search
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — K. M. Cantalice and J. Alvarado-Ortega (modified) · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Culaea inconstans)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.