Profile
Scientific name:	Varicorhinus alticorpus (Oshima)
Common name:	She-mian, Mian-zi (in Mandarin pronunciation), Tall-bodied ku fish

Features:	An endemic freshwater fish to Taiwan, the adult Varicorhinus alticorpus is tall and long, averaging 25-30cm in length but capable of growing up to 50cm. Weighing roughly 0.6kg, their bodies are flat, their bellies are round, and their heads are small, short, round, and slightly humped on top. The Varicorhinus alticorpus has a short, wide, and round mouth that stretches downward and covers the upper lip. The mouth is horizontal when closed and crescent-shaped when wide open, with the upper jaw almost reaching the front edge of the fish's eye sockets. Their lower jaw has a sharp cuticular layer and no barbels. The eyes of the Varicorhinus alticorpus are quite small, and the areas surrounding its pupils are silver in color. The lower edges of their operculum, dorsal fin, pelvic fin, and anal fin are all pink; the scales below their lateral line sometimes have a rosy glow; their ray fin is grayish-black; and their lower sides and belly are both silver colored.
Behavior:	Varicorhinus alticorpus feeds primarily on the aquatic algae clinging to stones and aquatic insects. They grow to adulthood quite fast and prefer to stay in rapid-flowing streams where the water flow is abundant and the temperatures are lower. They breed between July and October, at which time the females' bellies will swell a bit while the males develop several large, hard breeding tuberdes on the mouth.
Habitat:	An endemic freshwater fish to Taiwan, the Varicorhinus alticorpus only appears in the streams of southern and eastern Taiwan, such as the Kao-ping Stream, Hualien Stream, Pei-nan Stream, and Hsiu-ku-luan Stream.