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| Liobagrus geumgangensis Kim, Yun & Park, 2023 |
Abstract
In a recent survey of populations of the Korean torrent catfish Liobagrus, a distinctive species was discovered from the Geum River and its tributaries flowing into the western coast of Korea, and here described as a new species, L. geumgangensis sp. nov. It is distinguishable from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: I, 8 pectoral fin-rays; 52–56 caudal-fin rays; a relatively short occiput to dorsal-fin origin distance (6.9–9.8% SL); a short pelvic-fin insertion to anal-fin origin distance (11.9–17.3% SL); a long dorsal-fin base (10.6–13.5% SL); 8–9 gill rakers; 5–8 serrations on the pectoral fin; the body and fins are dark yellow, the margins of the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are dark brown, but the outermost rim is faintly yellow. Analysis of the cytb gene also confirmed that L. geumgangensis is a monophyletic lineage distinct from other congeners.
Key words: Catfishes, cytb, DNA, geographical speciation, key, morphometrics, taxonomy
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| Liobagrus geumgangensis sp. nov. holotype (CNUC 39103), 70.7 mm SL, male, Geum River, Namyang-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, South Korea; lateral (A), dorsal (B) and ventral (C) views. |
Amblycipitidae Day, 1873
Liobagrus geumgangensis sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Liobagrus geumgangensis can be distinguished from other species in the genus by the length of the upper and lower jaws, and the presence or absence of serrations on the posterior edge of the pectoral fin, which are representative characteristics of the genus Liobagrus. Liobagrus geumgangensis has a longer upper than lower jaw and serrations on the posterior edge of the pectoral fin. Species that share these characteristics with L. geumgangensis are as follows: L. mediadiposalis, L. somjinensis, L. hyeongsanensis, L. huaiheensis and L. pseudostyani. This new species can be distinguished by the relatively large number of serrations (5–8) on the posterior edge of the pectoral fin (vs. 4–6 in L. mediadiposalis and L. somjinensis, 2–3 in L. hyeongsanensis, L. huaiheensis and L. pseudostyani). It can be further differentiated from L. huaiheensis and L. pseudostyani by the subtruncate caudal fin (vs. rounded). Liobagrus geumgangensis is distinguished from its geographically closest congeners L. mediadiposalis and L. somjinensis by the following combination of characteristics: the body and fins are dark yellow, and the margins of the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are dark brown, but the outermost rim is faintly yellow (vs. broad yellowish outer margin of the fins in L. mediadiposalis and crescent-shaped band in the middle of the caudal fin in L. somjinensis); pectoral fin rays I, 8 (vs. both I, 7); caudal fin rays 52–56 (vs. both 57–61); a relatively short occiput to dorsal-fin origin (6.9–9.8% SL vs. 10.3–13.3% in L. mediadiposalis and 9.7–13.0 in L. somjinensis); a short pelvic-fin origin to anal-fin origin (11.9–17.3% SL vs. 15.3–20.9% in L. mediadiposalis and 13.3–18.7% in L. somjinensis); a long dorsal-fin base (10.6–13.5% SL vs. 7.7–10.4% in L. mediadiposalis and 8.8–11.3% in L. somjinensis); and 8–9 gill rakes (vs. 7–11 in L. mediadiposalis and 7–9 in L. somjinensis) (Figs 1, 2).
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Etymology: Named after the Geum River (Geumgang in Korean), the type locality. We propose the Korean name Geumgang-Jagasari for this species.
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| Liobagrus mediadiposalis (A), CNUC 39153, 97.0 mm SL; male, Nakdong River, Sancheong-gun, South Korea and L. somjinensis (B), CNUC 39170, 99.4 mm SL, male, Somjin River, Namwon-si, South Korea. |
Su-hwan Kim, Seung-woon Yun and Jong-young Park. 2023. A New Species of Torrent Catfish, Liobagrus geumgangensis (Teleostei, Siluriformes, Amblycipitidae), from Korea. ZooKeys. 1180: 317-332. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1180.105233
