[Ichthyology • 2016] Oreonectes daqikongensis • A New Blind Species of the Cave Genus Oreonectes (Balitoridae: Nemacheilinae) from Guizhou, China

 Oreonectes daqikongensis  

Deng, Wen, Xiao & Zhou, 2016 

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.637.10202

Abstract

This study aimed to describe a new specimen of cavefish collected from a karst cave in the Daqikong area of Libo County, Guizhou. Twenty-six cavefish specimens were collected and identified as a new species of Balitoridae: Nemacheilinae, and named Oreonectes daqikongensis sp. n. A genetic analysis was performed and showed that its genetic distances from Oreonectes shuilongensis and Oreonectes platycephalus are higher than intraspecific distances. Discovery of this species will be helpful to understand the distribution of Oreonectes.

Keywords: Cavefish, Libo, new species, Oreonectes daqikongensis sp. n.

Figure 1. a Holotype of  Oreonectes daqikongensis sp. n. NO.CNGZNU20110128002.
 b A living Oreonectes daqikongensis sp. n.

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.637.10202

Diagnosis: The species has a large head, and the width of the head is larger than its depth. The frontal torso is nearly cylindrical, the backend gradually compresses, and the head is slightly flattened. There is a short distance between the anterior and posterior nostrils, and the anterior nostril forms a short and tubular structure, which is truncated backward. The pectoral fin extends backward to or beyond the starting point of the pelvic fin. The body is naked. The eyes are completely degraded; and eye socket was filled in fat tissue and without any outside remnant indicating their presence. The superior and inferior caudal peduncles have well-developed soft finfolds. No carneous fin flaps are present in the pelvic fin axilla. The air bladder is wrapped in a bony capsule, and the posterior chamber of the air bladder is developed into a membranous chamber, which is separated from the abdominal cavity and connected to the anterior chamber by a short duct. The whole body is white and transparent, when they are alive, they look a little red because the blood inside, and is unlikely to become black when it is fed in sunlight for a long term.

Habitat:  This species was found only in the Daqikong scenic area. The opening of the cave was halfway up the mountain, and the distance from the opening to the pool was about 15–20 m. The cave got no sunshine because of the twisty pathway. A large number of Hipposideros armiger lived in the cave and a thick layer of bat dung was found on the ground. Groundwater extended into the cave, and the water rushed outside the cave in the case of heavy rain. So far, no other fish, shrimps, or aquatic animals were found in the cave. The subterranean river belonged to the Dagou river system, and was the main river of the Libo County, which runs through the whole county, enters Guangxi from the Laocun Xiang, and was the major tributary of the Duliu River system (Figure 2).

 Huaiqing Deng, Huamei Wen, Ning Xiao and Jiang Zhou. 2016. A New Blind Species of the Cave Genus Oreonectes from Guizhou, China (Nemacheilinae).

  ZooKeys. 637: 47-59. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.637.10202

[Ichthyology • 2015] Revision of the Hillstream Lizard Loaches, Genus Balitoropsis (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae)

FIGURE 7. Lateral views of living Balitoropsis zollingeri. (A) UF 235547, 61.7 mm SL; Kelantan, Malaysia. (B) UF 235545, 27.3 mm SL; Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Scale bar 5 mm.
FIGURE 10. Original drawings from Bleeker (1863–1864). (A) Balitoropsis zollingeri, (B) B. ophiolepis. Positions modified from original publication. Designation of lateral view of B. ophiolepis as “Fig. 4” is an error.

 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3962.1.13

Abstract

The genus Balitoropsis Smith 1945 consists of two species, B. zollingeri (Bleeker 1853) and B. ophiolepis (Bleeker 1853). Homaloptera maxinae Fowler 1937, Balitoropsis bartschi Smith 1945, and Homaloptera nigra Alfred 1969 are junior synonyms of B. zollingeri. Balitoropsis zollingeri has been reported from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, and B. ophiolepis is known from Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.

Keywords: Homaloptera zollingeri, Homaloptera ophiolepis, Balitoropsis bartschi, Homaloptera maxinae, Homaloptera nigra, Southeast Asia, Pisces

Randall, Zachary S. and Patrick A. Riggs. 2015. Revision of the Hillstream Lizard Loaches, Genus Balitoropsis (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae). Zootaxa. 3962(1); 206–225.  DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3962.1.13

[Ichthyology • 2016] Tetrapod-like Pelvic Girdle in A Walking Cavefish, Cryptotora thamicola ปลาผีเสื้อถ้ำ

An excerpt from a video of the blind cave fish Cryptotora thamicola walking up an incline of approximately 90 degrees on an aquarium wall in the direction of a trickle of water.

by A. Suvarnaraksha  || NYTimes.com  DOI:  10.1038/srep23711

Abstract

Fishes have adapted a number of different behaviors to move out of the water, but none have been described as being able to walk on land with a tetrapod-like gait. Here we show that the blind cavefish Cryptotora thamicola walks and climbs waterfalls with a salamander-like diagonal-couplets lateral sequence gait and has evolved a robust pelvic girdle that shares morphological features associated with terrestrial vertebrates. In all other fishes, the pelvic bones are suspended in a muscular sling or loosely attached to the pectoral girdle anteriorly. In contrast, the pelvic girdle of Cryptotora is a large, broad puboischiadic plate that is joined to the iliac process of a hypertrophied sacral rib; fusion of these bones in tetrapods creates an acetabulum. The vertebral column in the sacral area has large anterior and posterior zygapophyses, transverse processes, and broad neural spines, all of which are associated with terrestrial organisms. The diagonal-couplet lateral sequence gait was accomplished by rotation of the pectoral and pelvic girdles creating a standing wave of the axial body. These findings are significant because they represent the first example of behavioural and morphological adaptation in an extant fish that converges on the tetrapodal walking behaviour and morphology.

Cryptotora thamicola, a waterfall-climbing cave fish that appears to walk the way land vertebrates do, researchers say.

photo: Danté Fenolio 

Figure 2: Computed microtomography scan (voxel size = 8 μm) of Cryptotora thamicola (47 mm total length).
(A) transverse view of pelvic girdle, (B) dorsal (left) and ventral (right) view pelvic girdle (cranial to top), (C) anterolateral view of pelvic girdle. il, iliac region (dark purple); im, intermuscular bone (light purple); is, ischial region of puboischiadic plate (tan); pf, pelvic fin (blue); pu, pubic region of puboischiadic plate (tan); sr, sacral ribs (dark purple). Vertebrae numbers 6,7,8 designate position from skull, (D) close-up image of acetabular symphysis, (E) close up image of obturator foramen, of.

Brooke E. Flammang, Apinun Suvarnaraksha, Julie Markiewicz and Daphne Soares. 2016. Tetrapod-like Pelvic Girdle in A Walking Cavefish.
Scientific Reports. 6, Article number: 23711. DOI:  10.1038/srep23711

[Ichthyology • 2015] Ghatsa spp. • On the Paraphyly of Homaloptera (Teleostei: Balitoridae) and Description of A New Genus of Hillstream Loaches from the Western Ghats of India

Abstract

Homaloptera van Hasselt 1823 as treated historically exhibits substantial morphological diversity and is paraphyletic based on both morphological and molecular data. The morphological diversity and phylogenetic relationships of Homaloptera, Homalopteroides Fowler 1905, Homalopterula Fowler 1940, and Balitoropsis Smith 1945, are elucidated. Pseudohomaloptera Silas 1953 is removed from the synonymy of Homaloptera. Homalopteroidini is created for the monophyly of Homalopteroides and Homalopterula; it is the sister group to balitorini Swainson 1839. Ghatsa n. gen. is created for species previously assigned to Homaloptera from the Western Ghats of India, and a redescription of Ghatsa montana (Herre 1945) is provided.

Keywords: Ghatsa, Balitoropsis, Homalopterula, Pseudohomaloptera, Homalopteroides, Helgia, Chopraia, Loaches, Southeast Asia

FIGURE 3. Lateral views of living (A) Homaloptera orthogoniata, not cataloged, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. Strong reddish tints on body likely breeding colors; (B) Homalopteroides smithi, UF 235740, 45.0 mm SL, Khlong Tasae, Salui Subdistrict, Chumphon, Thailand; (C) Homalopterula cf. ripleyi, not cataloged, Sumatra, Indonesia; (D) Balitoropsis zollingeri, not cataloged, Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia; (E) Pseudohomaloptera leonardi, UF 235735, 34.2 mm SL, Ta Pi River, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.

 Photos (A) & (D) by Renny Hadiaty. Photo (C) by Daniel Lumbantobing. Specimens not to scale.  
ResearchGate.net/publication/273988267

Randall, Zachary S. & Lawrence M. Page. 2015. On the Paraphyly of Homaloptera (Teleostei: Balitoridae) and Description of A New Genus of Hillstream Loaches from the Western Ghats of India.
Zootaxa. 3926(1): 57–86. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3926.1.2

facebook.com/israquarium/photos./845007498899184
ResearchGate.net/publication/273988267_On_the_paraphyly_of_Homaloptera_Teleostei_Balitoridae_and_description_of_a_new_genus_of_hillstream_loaches_from_the_Western_Ghats_of_India

[Ichthyology • 2014] Aborichthys cataracta & A. verticauda • New species of Aborichthys (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Fig 1: Lateral (a) and ventral (b) views of a freshly preserved specimen of Aborichthys cataracta from Hong Village, Upper Subanshri District, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Fig 3: Type locality of Aborichthys cataracta, Hong Village, Upper Subanshri District, Arunachal Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

The genus Aborichthys was described in 1913 from specimens in streams/rivers of Abor hills area of northeastern India during the Abor expedition 43. The type species was described as Aborichthys kempi. Since that time, three additional species have been added to the genus from northeastern India. These include A. garoensis from Darjiling, A. elongatus from Assam, and A. tikaderi from Arunachal Pradesh. Recently, our expeditions in Arunachal Pradesh have yielded many specimens of Aborichthys from the lower and upper Subanshri district that represents two additional new species to the genus. Herein, we describe Aborichthys cataracta and Aborichthys verticauda from this region and provide a taxonomic key for the genus based on the examination of all species known from India.

Key Words: Cypriniformes, Balitoridae, Aborichthys, New Species, India

Fig 4: Lateral (a) and ventral (b) views of a freshly preserved specimen of Aborichthys verticauda collected 7 km from Hola camp, Lower Subanshri District, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Arunachalam, M., Raja, M., Malaiammal, P. & Mayden, R.L. 2014. New species of Aborichthys (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Species. 7 (18): 33-47.

http://www.discovery.org.in/PDF_Files/s_071801.pdf

[Ichthyology • 2012] Draconectes narinosus • a new genus and species of cave fish (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from an island of Halong Bay, Vietnam

Draconectes narinosus,  new genus and species, is described from a cave in Van Gio island in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Besides characters commonly observed in cave fishes such as absence of eyes and pigmentation, it is distinguished by having the pores of the lateral line system on body and head situated at the tip of small papillae, a row of papillae along each side of the base of the dorsal fin, 7+6 branched caudal-fin rays; and the nostrils adjacent, posterior one broader than anterior one, anterior one broad and situated at the tip of a short tube. The relations of this species are not known but it has some similarity with several species described from caves of Guangxi (China) that had been placed in the genus Oreonectes.

Keywords: loach - Oreonectes.

Maurice Kottelat. 2012. Draconectes narinosus, a new genus and species of cave fish from an island of Halong Bay, Vietnam (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Revue suisse de Zoologie / Swiss Journal of Zoology, 119 (3): 341-349.  http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/pdf/rsz119_3.pdf

New Eyeless, Scaleless Cave Fish Found http://www.livescience.com/25175-new-eyeless-scaleless-cave-fish-found.html  

[Ichthyology • 2011] Oreonectes luochengensis • New Cave-dwelling Loach from Guangxi, China

Oreonectes luochengensis Jian, Tie-Jun, Ri-Feng & Jun-Xing, 2011

| New Cave-dwelling Loach from Guangxi, China

A new loach, Oreonectes luochengensis sp. nov.

(Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from Guangxi, China

Abstract: A cave-dwelling loach, Oreonectes luochengensis sp. nov. has been described based on collections from a cave in Tianhe town, Luocheng, Guangxi, China in September 2008. It can be distinguished from all known Oreonectes species by the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays 3, 7; anal-fin rays 2, 5; pectoral-fin rays 1, 11−12; pelvic-fin rays 1, 7 and 14−16 branched caudal-fin rays; head compressed; eyes present; surface of lower lip covered withshallow longitudinal groove; dorsal-fin origin posterior to vertical line of pelvic-fin origin; caudal peduncle without caudal-adipose keels; edge of caudal fin truncation; tiny scales present under skin; no cephalic lateral-line system;body pink in living status, without pigments in adult, after fixed in formalin, body yellowish, non-transparent, no markings on body side.

楊劍, 吳鐵軍, 書日鋒, 楊君興(2011). 廣西岭鰍屬魚類一新種 - 羅城岭鰍. 動物學研究 32(2): 208-211. 全文下載: http://www.zoores.ac.cn/CN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=2921

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