Bowfish also refers to a fish native to the Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan, China. It is commonly known as bowfish, also known as Dali bowfish, and its official name is Dali Schizothorax. It belongs to the family Cypriniformes and is endemic to China. It is a national second-level protected wild animal.

Characteristics: The body is slender, slightly flattened on the side, the head is small and short, the snout is short, and it is as long as the eye diameter. At the end of the mouth, the oral cleft is slightly inclined. The upper and lower lips are connected at the corner of the mouth, the lower lip is narrow, the posterior labial groove is interrupted at the meeting point in front of the mandible, and there is no keratinization on the edge of the mandible. The eyes are large; there are 2 pairs of barbels, and the jaw barbels are slightly longer than the muzzle barbels. The body is covered with fine scales, which are irregularly arranged and irregular in shape; the abdomen is exposed and scaleless from the gill isthmus to the base of the pelvic fin, or there are only a few traces of scales buried in the skin. The lateral line is slightly curved, with 96-108 lateral line scales. There is one row of large scales on each side of the anus and anal fin; the dorsal fin has a hard spine and its trailing edge has small serrations. The back of the body is light brown or yellowish brown, and the abdomen is grayish white or slightly yellowish. During the reproductive period, the anus of the female is particularly enlarged with a light red color, and the anal fin is long and thick. The male has a developed bead on the snout.

How to eat: It is currently prohibited to eat Dali bowfish.

But you can taste Dali’s special fish: spicy and sour fish: fish, papaya, spicy seeds, etc. Fish casserole: fish, Nuodeng ham, mushrooms, etc.