Japanese rice fish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Japanese rice fish lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Oryzias latipes
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	Asia
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Beloniformes
Family	Adrianichthyidae

Where does the Japanese rice fish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Japanese rice fish in 3 countries and territories across Asia.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Japanese rice fish endangered?

The Japanese rice fish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Japanese rice fish?

The Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes) is a ray-finned fish in the order Beloniformes and the family Adrianichthyidae, genus Oryzias. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Japanese rice fish

The Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes), also known as the medaka, is a member of genus Oryzias (ricefish), the only genus in the subfamily Oryziinae. This small (up to about 3.6 cm or 1.4 in) native of Japan is a denizen of rice paddies, marshes, ponds, slow-moving streams and tide pools. It is euryhaline, occurring in both brackish and freshwater. It became popular as an aquarium fish because of its hardiness and pleasant coloration: its coloration varies from creamy-white to yellowish in the wild to white, creamy-yellow, or orange in aquarium-bred individuals. Bright yellow, red or green transgenic populations, similar to GloFish, have also been developed, but are banned from sale in the EU. The medaka has been a popular pet since the 17th century in Japan. After fertilization, the female carries her eggs attached anterior to the anal fin for a period before depositing them on plants or similar things.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Japanese rice fish (revision 1371279474), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1142975 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).