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| Opsariichthys jishuiensis Zhao & Xu, 2025 |
Abstract
In May 2023, a new species of the genus Opsariichthys, O. jishuiensis sp. nov., was found from the Dayu River (Jiyuan City) and Dawen River (Jinan City) in the Yellow River Basin. The result of morphological comparison revealed that O. jishuiensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from the congeners by the lateral edge of the oral fissure straight, absence of anterior notch on upper lip, extending of maxillary never to the vertical of anterior margin of orbit, extending of pectoral fin far beyond the origin of ventral fin, 43-47 lateral-line scales, and scales below lateral-line 3. O. jishuiensis sp. nov. is similar to O. evolans and O. macrolepis, except the significant differences in the caudal peduncle length covers 10.1%-17.0% of standard length (O. evolans: 17.8%-21.6%, O. macrolepis: 16.9%-24.2%), lower jaw with 2 rows of moderate tubercles well separated (O. evolans: 1 row), and lower pharyngeal teeth 3 rows (O. macrolepis: 2 rows). The phylogenetic tree constructed by the mitochondrial cyt b gene showed that O. jishuiensis sp. nov. was a monophyletic group. K2P genetic distance between O. jishuiensis sp. nov. and its congeners ranged from 0.079 to 0.118, reaching the level of interspecific differentiation.
Keywords: Opsariichthys; new species; Yellow River; cyt b gene
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| Opsariichthys jishuiensis sp. nov. in lifes photo by Zhao Liming |
ZHAO Liming and XU Xiaojun. 2025. Opsariichthys jishuiensis sp. nov. (Cypriniformes: Xenocyprididae), A New Species from Yellow River Basin. Sichuan Journal of Zoology. 44(4); 447-456. DOI: 10.11984/j.issn.1000-7083.20240239 [28 July 2025]
