E. Zhang

Molecular evidence for taxonomic status of the gudgeon genus Huigobio Fang, 1938 (Teleostei: Cypriniformes), with a description of a new species from Guangdong Province, South China

The gudgeon cyprinid genus Huigobio Fang, 1938 is re-diagnosed. It can be distinguished from all other genera of Armatogobionina Kryzhanovsky, 1947 and the Gobioninae by its uniquely modified lower lip. The lower lip has a small, heart-shaped, longitudinally non-bisected central pad and two lateral lobes expanded as a wing-shaped flap completely covered with papillae. The lobes contact each other posteromedially, but are not completely confluent. Huigobio exilicauda, new species, is described from the Zhu-Jiang drainage of Guangdong Province, South China. It differs from H. chenhsienensis in caudal-peduncle thickness and interorbital width.

Metzia longinasus, a new cyprinid species (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) from the Pearl River drainage in Guangxi Province, South China

Metzia longinasus, a new cultrine cyprinid species from the Hongshui-He River of the Pearl River drainage in Guangxi Province, southern China, is described here. It can be distinguished from all other congeners by having a combination of the following characters: a superior mouth, 43 or 44 lateral-line scales, a long head (length 27.2–30.8% of standard length), a long snout (length 31.7–37.0% of head length), 10 or 11 branched anal-fin rays, and no longitudinal black band extending along each side of body from the extremity of the gill opening to caudal-fin base.

Homatula laxiclathra (Teleostei: Balitoridae), a new species of nemacheiline loach from the Yellow River drainage in Shaanxi Province, northern china

Homatula laxiclathra, new species, is here described from the Wei-He of the Yellow River drainage in Shaanxi Province, northern China. It is similar to H. berezowskii, H. longidorsalis, and H. variegata in the shared possession of a shallower body with a uniform depth, a character distinguishing all of them from all other congeners, but differs from these three species in the width of vertical brown bars on the caudal peduncle. This new species, along with H. berezowskii, differs from H. longidorsalis, and H. variegata in head length, caudal-peduncle depth, length of the dorsal adipose creast of the caudal peduncle, body squamation, and intestinal coiling. Homatula laxiclathra and H. berezowskii are further distinct in the caudal-fin shape and interorbital width.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Triplophysa xiangxiensis (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae).

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of the typical cave-dwelling nemacheilid loach species, Triplophysa xiangxiensis, was sequenced. The mitogenome of this blind fish, with 16 598 bp in length, composed of 13 protein-coding, 2 rRNA and 22 tRNA genes, and 2 non-coding regions (D-loop and OL). Its phylogenetic position within the Nemacheilidae was estimated. Phylogenetic tree inferred based on the complete mitogenome indicated that T. xiangxiensis was sister to T. rosa; both clustered with all other analyzed congeneric species to form the sister group of sampled species of Barbatula. The pairwise genetic distance between these two blind species was much lower than those between both and all other congeneric species. A further study on the taxonomic status of both within Triplophysa or the Nemacheilidae is warranted.

Vanmanenia maculata, a new species of hillstream loach from the Chang-Jiang Basin, South China (Teleostei: Gastromyzontidae)

Vanmanenia maculata, new species, is described from the middle and lower Chang-Jiang basin in Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, South China. This new species, along with V. caldwelli, V. stenosoma, and V. striata, is distinguished from all other Chinese species of the genus by lacking secondary rostral barbels. It is distinct from V. caldwelli and V. striata in anus placement, rostral lobule shape, and body coloration, and from V. stenosoma in having a larger scaleless area on the ventral surface of the body and a shallower caudal-peduncle. Vanmanenia polylepis should be removed from the synonymy of V. pingchowensis and regarded as valid.

Rectoris longibarbus, a new styglophic labeonine species (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from South China, with a note on the taxonomy of R. mutabilis (Lin 1933)

Rectoris longibargus, new species, is here described from the Zuo–Jiang of the Pearl River drainage at Jinxi County, Guangxi Province, China. It is distinct from all other congeners in the rostral barbel length and the structure of the gasbladder. Rectoris longibarbus is further distinguished from R. posehensis by having a slightly papillated posteromedian patch on the median plate of the lower lip, and from R. mutabilis, as here understood, by having a longitudinal black stripe running along the lateral line on the flank. Taxonomic problems with R. mutabilis are also addressed; it is regarded to be a senior synonym of R. luxiensis. The type locality of R. mutabilis is likely in the Yuan–Jiang (a tributary of the middle Yangtze River drainage) in Guizhou Province. The species currently recognized as R. mutabilis is previously unnamed, and possibly represents an undescribed genus.

Re-description of the catfish species Liobagrus kingi Tchang, 1935 (Pisces: Amblycipitidae) from the upper Chang-Jiang basin, China

The identity and validity of Liobagrus kingi Tchang, 1935 remain contentious to date due to its inaccurate original description. A re-description is provided here for this species based on our examination on its type, hitherto deposited in ASIZB and available topotypic material. It is confirmed that L. kingi is a species with a serrated posterior edge of the pectoral-fin spine and distinct from the sympatrically existing species L. nigricauda. Comments on former recognitions of specimens from the upper Chang-Jiang basin as L. kingi are presented.

Speolabeo hokhanhi , a new cavefish from Central Vietnam (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Speolabeo hokhanhi, new species, is here described from Hang Va Cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park (Son River basin) in Central Vietnam. It can be distinguished from S. musaei by having no papillae on the lower lip, no hump immediately behind the head, a duckbilled snout, a shorter caudal peduncle (length 16.8-18.6% SL), and the pelvic fin inserted closer to the snout tip than to the caudal-fin base.

Schistura alboguttata , a new loach species of the family Nemacheilidae (Pisces: Cypriniformes) from the Pearl River basin in Guangxi, South China

Schistura alboguttata, a new species of nemacheilid loach, is herein described from the Leli-He, a tributary flowing to the You-Jiang of the Pearl River basin (Zhu-Jiang in Chinese) at Tianlin County, Guangxi, South China. This new species can be readily distinguished from all other Chinese species of Schistura by its striking body coloration consisting of irregular white spots scattered over the dorsal and lateral regions of the body, with occasional irregular bars with narrow interspaces on the predorsal region.

Onychostoma brevibarba, a new cyprinine fish (Pisces: Teleostei) from the middle Chang Jiang basin in Hunan Province, South China

Onychostoma brevibarba, a new cyprinid species, is described from two tributaries flowing into the Xiang Jiang (= River) of the middle Chang Jiang basin in Hunan Province, South China. The new species is morphologically similar to two Chinese congeners, O. minnanense and O. barbatulum, but differs from them in the anteromedian extension of the postlabial groove. It further differs from O. minnanense in the maxillary-barbel length, shape and body coloration, and from O. barbatulum in the number of lateral-line perforated scales and the width of the mouth opening. The validity of the new species and its close relationship with these two species were affirmed by a molecular phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cyt b and CO1 genes.