Lionhead (goldfish) 2651964 219138212 2008-06-13T19:18:17Z CommonsDelinker 2304267 Replacing [[Image:Kano_Eitoku_Karajishi-zu.jpg]] with [[Image:Kano_Eitoku_002.jpg]] (by [[commons:User:Siebrand|Siebrand]] because: Was in category "Duplicate", exact duplicate). {| border=1 cellspacing=0 align="right" cellpadding=2 |- align=center bgcolor=pink !Lionhead goldfish |- align=left |[[Image:LionheadGoldfishSideviewRodsan18b.jpg|250px]] |- align=center bgcolor=pink !Country of origin |- align=center |[[China]] |- align=center bgcolor=pink !Type |- align=center |Fantailed |- align=center bgcolor=pink !Breed standards |- align=center |[http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/lionhead/lionhead.htm BAS] |- align=center bgcolor=pink |} The '''lionhead''' is a [[hood|hooded]] variety of fancy [[goldfish]]. This [[fish]] is the [[wiktionary:Precursor|precursor]] to the [[ranchu]].<ref name="GFSA">[http://www.goldfishpages.com/Articles/GFSA%20Ask%20the%20Judges,%20Ranchus.pdf "GFSA - Ask the Judges", an article about the Lionchu by Larry Christensen, Peter Ponzio and Scott Taylor, from the Goldfish Pages Website (Goldfish Society of America), date retrieved: 27 May 2007]</ref> ==Description== The tremendous hood or headgrowth and fat cheeks of lionheads give them a facial appearance similar to canine [[puppies]].<ref name="Johnson">"Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care and Collecting" by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess, Weatherhill, Shambala Publications, Inc., 2006. - ISBN 0-8348-0448-4</ref> The "wen" ([[China|Chinese]] term for headgrowth) fully covers the head, cheeks and gill plates of the fish.<ref name="GFSA"/><ref name="Ponzio">[http://www.goldfishpages.com/Articles/What%20is%20a%20Lionchu.pdf "What is a Lionchu?" by Peter Ponzio, an article from the Goldfish Pages Website (Goldfish Society of America), date retrieved: 26 May 2007]</ref> Furthermore, lionheads have short but deep bodies, and relatively straight<ref name="Johnson"/> or evenly arched backs without dorsal fins. The finnage, in general, is short. Breeding standards require that the lionhead’s anal fins are paired, the double tail fin should not droop, and its upper edges should be held away from the body.<ref name="Andrews">"An Interpet Guide to Fancy Goldfish" by Dr. Chris Andrews, Interpet Publishing, 2002. - ISBN 1-902389-64-6</ref> The tail of a traditional lionhead can be fully separated, partially separated, or webbed. The tail should also meet the caudal peduncle (the area where the body joins the tail) in a fashion that is almost perpendicular to the body.<ref name="GFSA"/><ref name="Ponzio"/> The caudal peduncle is ideally broad, allowing the tail to open when the fish swims. The back of the proper lionhead is quite broad to support the placement of the [[raspberry]]-like hood.<ref name="Ponzio"/> Hood development may vary but is more pronounced in males. The hood normally takes a year to develop in young fry. Mature male lionheads periodically shed patches of their headgrowths.<ref name="Andrews"/> Lionheads can grow up to 6 inches (15 cm) in length (including finnage) and may have metallic, [[Calico goldfish|nacreous]] or [[matte]] scales<ref name="Andrews"/>. They come in a variety of coloration. ==Origins== [[Image:Kano_Eitoku_002.jpg|thumb|right|220px|A painting of [[shishi|Chinese/Japanese lion-dogs]]. Lionhead goldfish were bred to mimick the appearance of this mythological Asian animal.]] Lionheads were bred in [[China]] to depict the image of the mythical Chinese [[shishi|lion-dog]] (the '''[[shishi]]''', in [[Japan|Japanese]] legend).<ref name="Johnson"/> They were introduced to [[Japan]] from China during the 17th and 18th centuries. The [[Japan|Japanese]] produced lionheads with more rounded back profiles, modified tails and diminished size of the headgrowth.<ref name="Ponzio"/> ==Special care== Lionheads are sometimes sensitive to low water temperatures.<ref name="Andrews"/> ==References== <references/> ==See also== {{main|Goldfish}} *[http://www.sanyou-goldfish.com/photo/lionhead.jpg Photo of a lionhead] *[[Ranchu]] *[[Lionchu]] {{Goldfish breeds}}