- · 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.
- · Korean mountain minnow silhouette: PhyloPic — Carlos Cano-Barbacil · CC0 1.0 (Luciobarbus graellsii)
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Korean mountain minnow
Rhynchocypris semotilus (Korean mountain minnow · Korean mountain minnow)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
🇰🇷 Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 12 cm is slightly shorter than a ballpoint pen (about 14 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Because it lives inside the Civilian Control Line, it is known to face fewer human-caused population threats. You can look up Goseong-gun on a map.
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 Korean mountain minnow is a small freshwater fish that swims in schools and lives only in cold mountain streams of Goseong, Gangwon-do.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It resembles Beodeulgae (a Korean fish name) and Beodeulchi (a Korean fish name), but its body is shorter and thicker, its head is blunt, and its eyes are large. There is a distinct black spot at the base of the dorsal fin.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is a cold-water fish that mainly eats aquatic insects and is believed to spawn in April and May in gravel beds where fast riffles meet pools.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is a Class II endangered wildlife (Korea) species and a Korean endemic that in South Korea lives only in streams inside the Civilian Control Line in Goseong-gun.
📚 Sources & References
- • 멸종위기 야생생물 Ⅱ급 — 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057620 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057620
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • Korean protection status: Class II endangered wildlife (Korea)
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4GTGN
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000057620 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000057620
- • wikidata.org — Q3757418
- • fishbase.se — Phoxinus-semotilus.html
- • species.nibr.go.kr — list
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Carlos Cano-Barbacil · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Luciobarbus graellsii)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.