The hitch was first formally described in 1854 by Spencer Fullerton Baird and Charles Frédéric Girard with its type locality given as the Sacramento River in California.

[7] The Lavinia genus has been placed in the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Cyprinidae in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

The hitch shape is deep and laterally compressed, with a small head, and a terminal mouth pointing upwards.

The hitch is closely related to the California roach (Hesperoleucus symmetricus complex), and these taxa can hybridize with each other.

[7] Hitch are omnivores of the open water, eating a combination of filamentous algae, insects, and zooplankton.