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| Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis Luo, Xiao, Zhou, Xiao & Zhou, in M.-Y. Xiao, Wang, Luo, J.-J. Zhou, N. Xiao et J. Zhou, 2025. |
Abstract
This study describes a new species, Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis sp. nov., collected from a cave near Xingren City, Guizhou Province, China. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished from the 80 species currently assigned to the genus Sinocyclocheilus by a combination of the following characteristics: absence of horn-like structures and indistinct elevation at the head-dorsal junction; body scaleless, with irregular black markings scattered above the lateral line; tip of pectoral fin not reaching the pelvic fin origin; tip of pelvic fin not reaching the anus; lateral line complete and curved, with pores 65–77; tip of maxillary barbel reaching the anterior margin of the operculum; and six rakers on the first gill arch. Phylogenetic trees constructed based on mitochondrial genes indicate that the new species represents an independent evolutionary lineage with relatively large genetic differences of 2.8–9.0% for the mitochondrial Cyt b and 2.7–8.5% for ND4.
Key Words: Beipanjiang River, Cavefish, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy
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| Live paratype of Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis sp. nov. |
Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis Luo, Xiao, Zhou, Xiao & Zhou, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characteristics: (1) absence of horn-like structures and indistinct elevation at the head-dorsal junction; (2) body scaleless, with irregular black markings scattered above the lateral line; (3) eyes large, diameter 16–21% of head length; (4) dorsal-fin rays, iii, 6–7, last unbranched ray serrate along posterior margin; (5) tip of the pectoral fin not reaching the pelvic fin origin; (6) pelvic fin rays, i, 8, tip not reaching the anus; (7) lateral line complete and curved, with pores 65–77; (8) tip of maxillary barbel reaching the anterior margin of the operculum; (9) six rakers on the first gill arch. The major diagnostic characters for new species and related species are summarized in Table 3.
Etymology. The specific epithet “xingrenensis” refers to the type locality of the new species: Xingren City, Guizhou Province, China. We propose the common English name “Xingren Golden-lined Fish” and the Chinese name “Xīng Rén Jīn Xiàn Bā (兴仁金线鲃)”.
Ming-Yuan Xiao, Jia-Jia Wang, Tao Luo, Jia-Jun Zhou, Ning Xiao, Jiang Zhou. 2025. Sinocyclocheilus xingrenensis (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae), A New underground Fish from Guizhou Province, Southeastern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution. 101(2): 419-436. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.141444
