Pogonichthys

Pogonichthys, the splitails, is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. These fishes are native to western North America.

Pogonichthys
Sacramento splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Leuciscidae
Subfamily:	Pogonichthyinae
Genus:	Pogonichthys Girard, 1854[1]
Type species
Pogonichthys inaequilobus Baird & Girard, 1854[1]
Synonyms[1]
Symmetrurus Jordan, 1878

The common name is inspired by the distinctive appearance of the tail fin, in which the upper lobe is distinctly larger.

Of the two species, only the Sacramento splittail survives; the Clear Lake splittail became extinct in the mid-1970s.

Species

Pogonichthys contains the following species:^[2]

• †Pogonichthys ciscoides Hopkirk, 1974 (Clear Lake splittail)
• Pogonichthys macrolepidotus (Ayres, 1854) (Sacramento splittail)