Karstsinnectes cehengensis (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae), a new species of cave fish from Guizhou, China

Xinrui Zhao, Changting Lan, Tao Luo, Jing Yu, Jiajun Zhou, Ning Xiao, Jiang Zhou

Zoological Systematics ›› 2024, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2) : 101-115.

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Zoological Systematics ›› 2024, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2) : 101-115. DOI: 10.11865/zs.2024204  CSTR: 32106.14.zs.2024204
Original Article

Karstsinnectes cehengensis (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae), a new species of cave fish from Guizhou, China

  • Xinrui Zhao, Changting Lan, Tao Luo, Jing Yu, Jiajun Zhou, Ning Xiao, Jiang Zhou
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Abstract

Four species of the genus Karstsinnectes, which live in dark, low-energy groundwater ecosystems, are currently recorded, mainly distributed in the upstream of the Pearl River, the Youjiang River and the Hongshui River. Completing biodiversity surveys is particularly difficult due to the particular cave habitats inhabited by these species. In this work, we describe a new cave fish of the genus Karstsinnectes, namely K. cehengensis Luo, Zhao & Zhou, sp. nov., collected from the Beipanjiang River, the upstream of the Hongshui River. Genetically, the four individuals of the new species form a phylogenetically separate lineage, as the sister clade of K. acridorsalis, with a 9.4–9.5% genetic difference in mitochondrial Cyt b. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: body naked, without body color; eyes reduced, diameter 1.4–3.8% of head length; anterior and posterior nostrils adjacent, anterior nostril not elongated to a barbel-like tip; lateral line incomplete; caudal fin forked; dorsal-fin rays iii-7, pectoral-fin rays i-11–12, pelvic-fin rays i-7, anal-fin rays iii-5, with 14 branched caudal-fin rays. The discovery of this new species represents the northernmost distribution of species within the genus Karstsinnectes and the first record from Guizhou Province. All currently known species of this genus inhabited in caves, making them ideal organisms for studying historical river connectivity and cave formation process.

Key words

Diversity, karst cave, morphology, phylogeny, Karstsinnectes

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Xinrui Zhao, Changting Lan, Tao Luo, Jing Yu, Jiajun Zhou, Ning Xiao, Jiang Zhou. Karstsinnectes cehengensis (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae), a new species of cave fish from Guizhou, China[J]. Zoological Systematics. 2024, 49(2): 101-115 https://doi.org/10.11865/zs.2024204

Funding

This research was supported by the Guizhou Province Top Discipline Construction Program Project (QianjiaoKeyan Fa [2019] 125), the Guizhou Normal University Academic Emerging Talent Fund Project (Qianshi Xin Miao [2021] 20), and the Postgraduate Education Innovation Programme of Guizhou Province (Qianjiaohe YJSKYJJ [2021] 091).
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