Shark minnow
The shark minnow (Luciosoma bleekeri) (Chinese: 布氏梭大口魚, Thai: ปลาซิวอ้าว) is a species of small cyprinid fish found in Southeast Asia from the Mae Klong River to the Mekong. It lives mainly in rivers, moving into flooded forests and fields during the floods and back into the river as the floods recede. It usually swims close to the surface in schools of many individuals.[2] It is one of the most abundant of the different types of minnow-sized fishes known as (Pla sio) in Thailand.
Shark minnow | |
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school at Bueng Chawak Aquarium in Doem Bang Nang Buat District, Thailand | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Subfamily: | Danioninae |
Genus: | Luciosoma |
Species: | L. bleekeri |
Binomial name | |
Luciosoma bleekeri Steindachner, 1878 | |
Uses
This small fish is important in the cuisine of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam where it is seasonally found in great numbers. It is commonly deep-fried, pickled or fermented as Pla ra, Padaek and Prahok, as well as salted and dried. It is eaten also raw in Lao and Isan cuisine.[3]
References
- Vidthayanon, C. 2012. Luciosoma bleekeri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T180761A1659942. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T180761A1659942.en. Downloaded on 02 August 2017.
- FishBase
- Mitacek, EJ; Brunnemann, KD; Suttajit, M; Martin, N; Limsila, T; Ohshima, H; Caplan, LS (1999). "Exposure to N-nitroso compounds in a population of high liver cancer regions in Thailand: volatile nitrosamine (VNA) levels in Thai food". Food Chem Toxicol. 37 (4): 297–305. doi:10.1016/s0278-6915(99)00017-4. PMID 10418946.
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