Phylogeny and Taxonomy

 

Hey everyone!

I wanted to have a nice dive into Sewellia as I will soon be getting 5 specimens myself for my River Aquarium. Specifically, I will be getting Sewellia lineolata. These fish are perhaps my favorite freshwater species of fish. They occupy high flow and highly oxygenated streams and rivers, and have a very distinct body adapted for high flow, sometimes as high as 2 meters a second or around 6.6 feet. Of the 13 species described, unfortunately the majority are either either threatened or endangered, as is common place with many of the desired species for the aquarium hobby.

Image courtesy of (Shrimpy Business) until I can get my own!

I have grown a great appreciation for taxonomy and phylogeny through this video series! Impossible to absorb in a single listen, but great background material!

Kingdom

Animalia

1.5 million living animal species.

Phylum

Chordata

~half of the species within Chordata are ray finned fish. Requires a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, an endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail.

Class

Actinopterygii

99% of the 30,000+ Species of extant fish. Constitute 50% of all living vertebrates.

Order

Cypriniformes

4,250 Species, 400 Genera, 11-23 Families.

Sub Order

Cobitoidei

1249 Species, 107 Genera, 9 Families, Loaches all very popular within aquarium trade. Extremely wide morphology. Composed of both suckers and algae eaters.

Family

Gastromyzontidae

137 Species, 18 Genera , Flat loaches adapted for fast flowing environments. Known as “hillstream loaches”.

Genus

Sewellia

13 Species

References

    Shrimpy Business. “Reticulated Hillstream Loach.” Shrimpy Business, 2026, https://shrimpybusiness.com/products/reticulated-hillstream-loach. Accessed 28 July 2026.

    Wikipedia . “Taxonomy (Biology).” 13 Apr. 2020.

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