Lepidocephalichthys guntea (Hamilton, 1822)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Lepidocephalichthys guntea, also known as guntea loach, scavenger loach or peppered loach, is a species of cobitid loach native to southern and south-eastern Asia. This species reaches a length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) TL. It uses its intestines to breathe, which gives it the ability to adapt to live in a variety of stagnant and flowing environments. This fish is found in the aquarium trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Lepidocephalichthys guntea; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:00:58.905752+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lepidocephalichthys guntea (Hamilton, 1822)
- Name authority
- (Hamilton, 1822)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cobitidae
- Genus
- Lepidocephalichthys
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCobitidae Swainson, 1838
- subfamilyCobitinae Swainson, 1838
- genusLepidocephalichthys Bleeker, 1863
- speciesLepidocephalichthys guntea (Hamilton, 1822)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lepidocephalichthys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Lepidocephalichthys alkaia Havird & Page, 2010 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys annandalei Chaudhuri, 1912 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini Havird & Tangjitjaroen, 2010 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys tomaculum Kottelat & Lim, 1992 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys micropogon (Blyth, 1860) | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys hasselti (Valenciennes, 1846) | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys irrorata Hora, 1921 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys goalparensis Pillai & Yazdani, 1976 | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys coromandelensis (Menon, 1992) | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys birmanicus (Rendahl, 1948) | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lepidocephalichthys barbatuloides (Bleeker, 1851) | CobitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=281291 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6PB8D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.