Misgurnus is a genus of weather loaches, family Cobitidae, spread across East Asia, Russia, and parts of Europe, with the atlas covering species from Russia, China, Japan, both Koreas, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Austria. These are elongated, eel-like loaches with a rounded body, small paired fins, and a mouth ringed with barbels for probing soft mud and sediment; several species tolerate low-oxygen water by gulping air at the surface, a trait tied to their common name — some individuals become visibly restless before a change in barometric pressure. Species range from a modest 3.5 in up to roughly 12 in.
The genus's flagship aquarium and pond fish is the weather loach or dojo loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, prized for its hardiness, peaceful nature, and tolerance of cool water that lets it overwinter in outdoor ponds well beyond the tropical range of most aquarium fish; it has also been introduced, sometimes invasively, outside its native range through the bait and ornamental trades. The European weather loach (M. fossilis) is kept for similar reasons, and the Chinese fine-scaled loach (M. mizolepis) also carries hobby recognition. Conservation status across the genus is mixed but not alarming — roughly half the atlas's eleven species are least concern, with the rest not evaluated or data deficient.