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Leptobotia micra, new species, is described from the upper Li River (Pearl River basin) around Guilin in Guangxi province, southern China. The new species is evidently the smallest species of Leptobotia, with females of 45‒46 mm SL bearing oocytes. It can be distinguished from all other species of Leptobotia by a combination of the following characters: no dark bars or dorsal saddles on body, a row of white dots along dorsal midline, 4+34 vertebrae, a predorsal distance of 58.1‒59.0% SL, eye diameter 1.8‒2.0 % SL, pelvic fins not reaching anus, an emarginated caudal fin (length of median rays 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe) and the anus positioned distinctly closer to anal-fin origin than to pelvic-fin base.
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Accepted by R. Pethiyagoda: 28 Dec. 2016; published: 3 Apr. 2017
ZOOTAXA
ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)
ISSN
1175-5334
(online edition)
Copyright © 2017 Magnolia Press
Zootaxa 4250 (1): 090
100
http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/
Article
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4250.1.7
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9488379E-15D5-4601-9C03-5E41726E857E
Leptobotia micra, a new species of loach (Teleostei: Botiidae)
from Guilin, southern China
JÖRG BOHLEN & VENDULA ŠLECHTOVÁ
Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rumburská 89, 277 21 Liběchov, Czech
Republic. E-mail: bohlen@iapg.cas.cz
Abstract
Leptobotia micra, new species, is described from the upper Li River (Pearl River basin) around Guilin in Guangxi prov-
ince, southern China. The new species is evidently the smallest species of Leptobotia, with females of 45‒46 mm SL bear-
ing oocytes. It can be distinguished from all other species of Leptobotia by a combination of the following characters: no
dark bars or dorsal saddles on body, a row of white dots along dorsal midline, 4+34 vertebrae, a predorsal distance of
58.1‒59.0% SL, eye diameter 1.8‒2.0 % SL, pelvic fins not reaching anus, an emarginated caudal fin (length of median
rays 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe) and the anus positioned distinctly closer to anal-fin origin than to pelvic-fin
base.
Key words: Cypriniformes, Cobitoidea, taxonomy, Pearl River basin, River Li
Introduction
Loaches of the genus Leptobotia Bleeker are widespread across south-eastern China, from the Hai River basin in
the north to the Red River basin in the south (Nalbant 2002, Šlechtová et al. 2006), with the majority of species
living in the drainages of Yangtze and Pearl rivers. The most prominent species of Leptobotia is L. elongata
Bleeker, one of the largest species of loaches, reaching up to 3 kg weight and 50 cm total length (Fang 1936, Yuan
et al. 2010), which historically has been an important commercial fish (Huckstorf 2013). However, most species of
Leptobotia do not exceed 12 cm SL. The smallest known species of Leptobotia recorded so far appear to be L.
posterodorsalis Lan et Chen and L. punctata Li et al., reaching up to 74 and 76 mm SL, respectively (Chen and Lan
1992, Li et al. 2008). The genus contains 21 nominal taxa, of which Kottelat (2012), in the latest review of loach
species, considered 13 to be valid. However, the taxonomy of the species has been complicated by short and often
not very informative descriptions and the lack of well-documented type material. For example, Kottelat (2004,
2012) considered L. citrauratea Nichols a synonym of L. elongata, but L. elongata has broad bands on the body,
while the holotype of L. citrauratea has been described as plain brown to orange in live (Nichols 1925) and still
shows a darker back, a light stripe on the head, and a row of light dots along the dorsal midline. Due to these
significant differences from L. elongata we consider L. citrauratea a valid species.
A recent expedition revealed several specimens of Leptobotia from Guilin in Guangxi province that turned out
to belong to an unnamed species. The aim of the present study is to describe the species, here named Leptobotia
micra.
Methods
The specimens were fixed and stored in 96% ethanol. All measurements and counts follow Kottelat (1990).
Measurements were made point-to-point with dial callipers to the nearest 0.1 mm. Collection abbreviations: IAPG,
Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Laboratory of Fish Genetics, Liběchov, Czech Republic; SNHM
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LEPTOBOTIA MICRA, NEW SPECIES
Shanghai Museum of Natural History, Shanghai, PR China; ZRC, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum,
National University of Singapore, Singapore.
FIGURE 1. Map of the Pearl River basin in southeast PR China. The type locality of Leptobotia micra is indicated by a red
circle.
Leptobotia micra, new species
(Fig. 2, 3)
Holotype. SNHM 10308, 45.6 mm SL; PR China: Guangxi province: market in Guilin, reportedly collected in
River Li close to Guilin; Zhou et al., 27 SEP 2013.
Paratypes. SNHM 10309-10310, 2, 45.2–50.2 mm SL; ZRC 55399, 2, 45.8–45.9 mm SL; same data as
holotype.
Diagnosis. Member of the genus Leptobotia by having the suborbital spine simple and no mental lobes.
Leptobotia micra is distinguished from all other species of Leptobotia by a combination of the following
characters: no dark bars or dorsal saddles on body, a row of white dots along dorsal midline, 4+34 vertebrae, a
predorsal distance of 58.1–59.0% SL, eye diameter 1.8‒2.0% SL, pelvic fins not reaching anus, an emarginated
caudal fin (length of median rays 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe) and the anus positioned distinctly closer to
anal-fin origin than to pelvic-fin base.
Description. See Figure 2 for general appearance and Table 1 for morphometric data of holotype and 4
paratypes. A very small botiid loach (largest recorded size 50.2 mm SL) with elongated body (body depth 4.4‒6.1
times in SL). Body, head and caudal peduncle compressed. Dorsal outline from snout to end of dorsal-fin base
slightly convex to convex; rising from snout to maximum body depth between base of pectoral and pelvic fins and
then declines until end of dorsal-fin base. Dorsal outline behind dorsal-fin base nearly straight, tapering towards the
caudal-fin base. Ventral outline of head slightly convex, ventral outline of body and caudal peduncle nearly straight
with exception of belly, which is arched according to the degree of filling of stomach and gonads. Snout round or
slightly pointed in ventral view. Depth of caudal peduncle 1.0‒1.2 times in its length. Axillary pelvic lobe present
and with free tip. Very small adipose crests along dorsal and ventral midline of caudal peduncle.
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TABLE 1. Morphometric data of holotype and four paratypes of Leptobotia micra.
Dorsal fin with 4 simple and 7½ or 8½ branched rays. Distal margin of dorsal fin straight or slightly convex.
Anal fin with 3 simple and 5½ branched rays, not reaching caudal-fin base, distal margin convex. Caudal fin with
9+8 branched rays, moderately forked (length of median rays 1.2‒1.4 times in length of upper lobe), lobes round or
slightly pointed. Pelvic fins with 8 rays, origin under or slightly before origin of dorsal fin, reaching about half of
distance between pelvic-fin base and anal-fin origin, not reaching anus, which is situated about 3 eye diameters in
front of anal-fin origin. Pectoral fin with 11 to 13 rays, not reaching half of distance between pectoral-fin base and
pelvic-fin origin. 4+34 vertebrae.
Body covered by small scales except ventral side between head and anus. Lateral line nearly complete, always
reaching vertical through end of anal-fin base, with 66‒86 pores. Cephalic lateral line system with 6 supraorbital, 4
+ 10 infraorbital, 9 pre-operculo-mandibular and 3 supratemporal pores. Lips and barbels smooth.
Anterior nostril pierced in front of side of a flap-like tube, reaching slightly behind posterior margin of
posterior nostril, not reaching margin of eye, with a low anterior rim. Eye small (12.0‒14.6 times in lateral head
length), eye diameter 1.9‒2.3 times in interorbital width. Mouth gape about same length as width. Posterior margin
of upper lip reaching vertical through anterior margin of nostril. Processus dentiformes present, but very low and
range mean SD
min max
standard length (SL) 45.2 50.2
in % of SL:
total length 118.8 123.9 121.5 1.9
dorsal head length 18.6 20.3 19.3 0.6
lateral head length 23.6 25.9 24.7 0.9
predorsal length 58.1 59.0 58.4 0.4
pre-pelvic length 54.4 57.5 56.0 1.0
pre-anus length 70.5 72.6 71.4 0.7
preanal length 76.2 81.0 78.8 1.5
head depth at eye 9.4 10.7 10.0 0.5
head depth at nape 12.1 14.8 13.5 0.9
maximum body depth 16.3 22.7 18.6 2.2
body depth at dorsal origin 15.3 18.3 16.4 1.1
depth of caudal peduncle 11.1 12.9 11.9 0.6
length of caudal peduncle 11.8 13.5 12.6 0.7
snout length 8.5 10.2 9.0 0.6
head width at nares 5.6 6.3 6.0 0.3
maximum head width 9.4 10.7 10.0 0.4
body width at dorsal origin 8.6 9.8 9.3 0.4
body width at anal origin 6.0 7.0 6.3 0.3
eye diameter 1.8 2.0 1.9 0.1
interorbital width 3.7 4.0 3.8 0.1
heigth of dorsal fin 11.1 14.6 12.9 1.2
length of upper caudal lobe 18.7 23.9 21.0 1.7
length of median caudal rays 14.6 16.8 15.9 0.8
length of lower caudal lobe 19.9 23.9 21.6 1.5
depth of anal fin 15.3 16.8 16.1 0.6
length of pelvic fin 12.0 14.6 13.4 1.0
length of pectoral fin 11.6 16.6 13.5 1.9
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broadly rounded. No notch in lower lip. Lips thick, without furrows, upper lip with very small median incision;
lower lip with a median interruption. Rostral barbels reaching about half of distance to corner of mouth, maxillary
barbel just reaching behind level of posterior margin of nostrils, not reaching level of anterior margin of eye.
Three dissected paratypes (42.2‒45.9 mm SL) are females with developing oocytes.
Sexual dimorphism. None observed.
FIGURE 2. Leptobotia micra, PR China: Guangxi prov.; upper River Li; a)‒c) holotype, SNHM 10308, male, 45.6 mm SL,
d)‒e) paratype ZRC 55399, female, 45.8 mm SL.
Colouration. Ground colour of head and body in preserved specimens light beige. Body and head laterally
peppered with grey pigment cells, whose density is increasing dorsally, so that dorsal side of head and body are
grey. A row of white dots along dorsal midline from nape to caudal-fin base, single dots about size of eye, but
usually at least some are fused to stripes. Dots are sometimes faint, in one paratype hardly visible, but present in all
specimens. A faint dark grey stripe from mouth to eye, width slightly less than eye diameter. Base of rostral barbels
and tip of mouth black. A dark grey band at base of caudal fin, width similar to eye diameter, continuous, reaching
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dorsal and ventral midline. 2 or 3 rows of dark grey faint blotches on caudal fin, 1 or 2 such rows in dorsal fin,
single blotches in anal fin, paired fins without pigmentation.
FIGURE 3. Leptobotia micra, ZRC 55399, 45.8 mm SL; PR China: Guangxi prov.; upper River Li, mouth in ventral view.
Distribution. The species is presently known only from the type series, which originated from the upper River
Li around Guilin city in Guangxi province, PR China.
Etymology. From micros, greek for ‘small’. The name refers to the fact that the species is the smallest known
species of the genus, with females as small as 45 mm SL developing oocytes. An adjective.
Remarks. In three families of loaches (Botiidae, Cobitidae, Serpenticobitidae) the lateral ethmoid bone is
developed as an erectable spine, called suborbital spine. In most cases, this spine is bifid, meaning it is divided into
a main branch and a side branch, both pointed. In contrast to this common shape, the suborbital spine in all species
of Leptobotia is simple, meaning it lacks the side branch. Within Botiidae, this character state is otherwise found
only in Sinibotia zebra (Wu) (Wu 1939; Bohlen et al. 2016). Sinibotia zebra differs from all species of Leptobotia
by having (vs. not having) the lower lip extended into mental lobes. The new species L. micra has a simple
suborbital spine and no mental lobes, assigning it to the genus Leptobotia.
Most species of Leptobotia have a prominent pigmentation pattern on the body and fins. Black bars are found
in four species (L. elongata, L. flavolineata Wang, L. orientalis Xu et al., L. pellegrini Fang), dorsal saddles in
another four species (L. guilinensis Chen, L. hengyangensis Huang & Zhang, most specimens of L. rubrilabris
Dabry de Thiersant, L. tchangi Fang) and a marbled (L. taeniops Sauvage) and a reticulated (L. punctata) pattern in
one species each (Fang 1936, Wu 1939, Chen 1980, Li et al 2008, Nalbant 2002, Yu et al. 1981). Leptobotia micra
differs from these species in having a plain grey body, darker at the dorsum, with a row of white dots along dorsal
midline, a faint dark grey stripe from mouth to eye and a dark grey band at base of caudal fin (Fig. 2).
Leptobotia micra bears a row of white dots along the complete dorsal midline, a character state otherwise
encountered only in L. citrauratea. In L. guilinensis, L. punctata and some specimens of L. posterodorsalis and L.
taeniops, such middorsal dots or a middorsal stripe are present in the posterior half of the dorsum between base of
dorsal fin and caudal-fin origin (Fig. 4). Leptobotia micra differs from L. citrauratea by having 7½‒8½ (vs. 9½)
branched dorsal-fin rays, a shorter caudal fin (1.1‒1.2 times in lateral head length vs. 0.9 times) and mildly
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emarginated caudal fin (length of median rays 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe; vs. strongly forked, length of
median rays 1.7‒1.8 times in length of lower lobe). Leptobotia micra differs from L. guilinensis and L. punctata by
having less vertebrae (4+34 vs. 4+39 in L. punctata and 4+35‒36 in L. guilinensis), a longer predorsal distance
(58.1‒59.0% SL vs. 56.2% SL in L. punctata and 49.3‒55.9% SL in L. guilinensis) and the anus positioned
distinctly closer to anal-fin origin than to pelvic-fin base (vs. in about equal distance in L. punctata and L.
guilinensis). Additional differences in the pigmentation pattern between L. micra and L. punctata and L. guilinensis
have been described above. Leptobotia micra differs from L. posterodorsalis by pelvic fins insert opposite or
slightly in front of dorsal-fin origin (vs. remarkably before dorsal-fin origin), by having a deeper body (body depth
4.4‒6.1 times in standard length vs. 6.9‒8.3 times), more branched rays in pelvic (8 vs 6) fins, less vertebrae (4‒34
vs. 4+40‒41) and by not having (vs. having) prominent black blotches in the caudal fin.
A simply grey or brown body is found in seven species of Leptobotia, namely L. bellacauda Bohlen &
Šlechtová, L. citrauratea, L. microphthalma Fu & Ye, L. posterodorsalis, L. tientaiensis Wu and in few specimens
of L. elongata and L. rubrilabris (Fig. 5). The differences between L. micra and L. citrauratea and L.
posterodorsalis are given above. Leptobotia micra differs from L. bellacauda by not having (vs. having) prominent
black blotches in the caudal fin, by having the anus closer to the anal fin origin than to base of pelvic fin (vs. closer
to base of pelvic fin), a shorter caudal peduncle (11.8‒13.5% SL vs. 14.2‒18.2% SL), a larger eye (1.8‒2.0% SL vs.
2.2‒3.1% SL) and a less deeply emarginated caudal fin (length of median caudal rays 1.2‒1.4 times in length of
upper lobe vs. 1.5‒2.0 times). Leptobotia micra differs from L. microphthalma by having larger eyes (eye diameter
1.8‒2.0 % SL vs. 0.8‒1.0 % SL), less deep forked caudal fin (length of median rays 1.2‒1.4 times in length of
lower lobe vs. 2.7‒3.1 times), presence (vs. absence) of a black stripe from snout to eye, a black bar on caudal-fin
base, and by having hyaline fins (vs having all fins in body colour). Leptobotia micra differs from L. tientaiensis by
having 4+34 (vs. 4+35‒37) vertebrae, a row of white dots along middorsal line (vs. absent), by pelvic fins not
reaching (vs. reaching) anus and anterior half of the axillary lobe being grown to the body (vs. free on whole
length). Leptobotia micra differs from plain grey specimens of L. elongata by having a shorter head (lateral head
length 23.6‒25.9% SL vs. 29.0‒29.2% SL), a lower head (head depth at nape 12.1‒14.8% SL vs. 15.6‒16.8% SL),
a less strongly emarginated caudal fin (length of median rays 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe; vs. strongly
forked, length of median rays 2.2‒2.6 times in length of lower lobe) and a smaller eye (1.8‒2.0% SL vs. 2.3‒2.7%
SL). It differs from plain brown specimens of L. rubrilabris by having the anus closer to the anal-fin origin than to
base of pelvic fin (vs. equally distanced), all fins much shorter (e.g. length of upper lobe of caudal peduncle
18.7‒23.9% SL vs. 29.0‒34.7% SL, length of anal fin 15.3‒16.8% SL vs. 18.1‒21.2% SL), a more compressed
body (body width at dorsal-fin origin 8.6‒9.8% SL vs. 11.6‒11.8% SL).
Leptobotia micra occurs in the River Li, which drains into the River Gui, a northern tributary of the Pearl
River. The River Li is particularly rich in botiid loaches; including L. micra up to now nine species have been
recorded from this river (Fang 1936, Chen 1980, pers. observ.). Among them are four species of Leptobotia,
namely L. guilinensis, L. micra, L. microphthalma, L. pellegrini. The differences between L. micra and L.
guilinensis and L. microphthalma have been described above. Leptobotia micra differs from L. pellegrini by not
having (vs. having) broad black dorsal saddles and/or bars on the body, by pelvic fins not reaching (vs. reaching)
anus, by having smaller eyes (1.8‒2.0% SL vs. 2.3‒2.9% SL) and a less strongly forked caudal fin (length of
median lobe 1.3‒1.4 times in length of lower lobe vs. 1.8‒2.0 times). Other species of Leptobotia recorded from the
Pearl River basin are L. punctata and L. posterodorsalis; for differences between these two species and L. micra
see above.
Leptobotia micra seems to be an exceptionally small species of this genus. Although the limited number of
known specimens does not allow conclusions on the maximum size of the species, the fact that females of less than
5 cm SL bear developing oocytes indicates a small size at maturation.
Comparative material. Leptobotia bellacauda: SNHM 20160220, holotype, 70.1 mm SL; PR China, Anhui
province, Qiupu River; SNHM 20160221‒20160224, paratypes, 4 specimens, 64.6‒76.7 mm SL, ZRC 54802,
paratypes, 2 specimens, 71.7‒73.4 mm SL; same data as holotype; Leptobotia citrauratea: AMNH 8402, holotype,
50 mm SL; China: Hunan prov.: Lake Dongting (by photographs); Leptobotia elongata: IAPG A8553-8560
(normally banded form), 8 specimens, 68.7‒85.2 mm SL, IAPG A8550-8551 (plain grey form), 2 specimens,
82.2‒86.5 mm SL; both PR China: Sechuan prov., Yangtze River; Leptobotia flavolineata: BMAM 762196,
holotype, about 84 mm SL; PR China: Beijing prov.: Juma River (by photographs); Leptobotia guilinensis: IAPG
A8861‒8883, 23 specimens, 62.7‒80.3 mm SL; PR China: Guangxi: Li River. Leptobotia hengyangensis: IHASW
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FIGURE 4. Species of Leptobotia with plain brown body and white dots along middorsal line, a–b) L. citrauratea, a) AMNH
8402, holotype, 50 mm SL; PR China: Hunan prov.: Lake Dongting, photos by R. Arrindell; b) IAPG A8663, 38.8 mm SL; PR
China: Jiangxi prov.: market in Nanchang; c) L. taeniops, IAPG A8549, 73.5 mm SL; PR China: Sechuan prov.: Yangtze River
at Yibing. d) L. guilinensis, IAPG A8864, 78.9 mm SL; PR China: Guangxi prov.: River Li at Guilin, right side, reversed.
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LEPTOBOTIA MICRA, NEW SPECIES
FIGURE 5. Species of Leptobotia with plain brown or grey body but without row of white dots along middorsal line. a–b) L.
elongata, a) normal banded form, IAPG A8556, 84.8 mm SL; b) plain grey form, IAPG A8550, 82.2 mm SL; c) L. rubrilabris,
plain brown form, IAPG A8552, 85.7 mm SL; all three PR China: Sechuan prov.: Yangtze River at Yibing; d) L.
microphthalma, IAPG A9124, 76.3 mm SL; PR China: Sechuan prov.: River Jiu Ling;
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FIGURE 5. (Continued) e–g) L. tientaiensis, e) holotype of L. compressicauda, AMNH 9682, 93.2 mm SL; PR China: Fujian
prov.: Chungan Hsien, photos by Department of Ichthyology, American Museum of Natural History, f) paratype of L.
hansuiensis, IHASW 790940, about 87 mm SL; PR China: Shaanxi Prov.: Langao, photos by E Zhang and L. Cao, Institute of
Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; g) IAPG A9173, 51.3 mm SL; PR China: Zhejiang prov.: Tientai county; h) L.
bellacauda, SNHM 20160220, holotype, 70.1 mm SL; PR China: Anhui prov.: Qiupu River.
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80013, syntype, 1; PR China: Hunan: Xiang River (by photographs). Leptobotia microphthalma: IAPG
A8536‒8543, 9 specimens, 66.3‒81.4 mm SL; PR China: Sichuan: Min River. Leptobotia orientalis: BMAM
80VI0030, paratype, 80 mm SL; PR China: Beijing prov.: Juma River (by photographs); Leptobotia pellegrini:
IAPG A1813-1815, 3 specimens, 110.0‒146.3 mm SL, IAPG A8561, 1 specimen, 81.2 mm SL; both: PR China:
Sichuan prov.: Yangtze River; Leptobotia punctata: IAPG A9101, 1 specimen, 53.2 mm SL; PR China: Guangxi:
Yong River. Leptobotia rubrilabris: IAPG A8552; 1 specimen, 85.7 mm SL; PR China: Sichuan prov.: Yangtze
River; IAPG A10065, 1 specimen, 93.8 mm SL; PR China: Anhui prov.: Qiantang River; Leptobotia taeniops:
IAPG A8562-8566, 5 specimens, 75.1‒91.5 mm SL; PR China: Jiangxi prov.: Gan Jiang; Leptobotia tientaiensis:
IHASW 790940 (syntype of L. tientaiensis hansuiensis Fang & Hsu), 1, PR China: Shaanxi: Langao (by
photographs); IAPG A10063, 1, XX mm SL; PR China: Hubei prov.: Hansui River basin; AMNH 9682 (holotype
of L. compressicauda Nichols), 93.2 mm SL; PR China: Fujian prov.: Chungan Hsien (by photographs); AMNH
11131 (paratypes of L. compressicauda), 7 specimens, 64.5‒94.6 mm SL; PR China: Fujian prov.: Chungan Hsien
(by photographs); IAPG A9173, 1 specimen, 51.3 mm SL; PR China: Zhejiang: River in Tiantai Mountains.
Leptobotia tchangi: IAPG 9167‒9172, 6 specimens, 62.6‒111.8 mm SL, PR China: Zhejiang: Qiantang River.
Further data taken from Aquatic Research Institute of Guangxi (2006), Bohlen & Šlechtová (2016), Li et al.
(2008), Xu et al. (1981), and Ye et al. (2015).
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Zhou Hang, Er Mian, Hou Mian and Wu Zhehao for their help with obtaining samples. Fabian
Herder and Serkan Güse kindly radiographed our material and Radfort Arrindell, Liang Cao, E Zhang and Yahui
Zhao provided photographs of type material in their care. The study was supported by grant 13‒37277 S of the
Czech Science Foundation.
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[in Chinese, English summary]
... Pearl River (or Zhu-Jiang) basins, and coastal rivers of both Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces (Bohlen & Slechtova, 2017;Guo & Zhang, 2021;Kottelat, 2012), with an extended distribution of two species, i.e., L. flavolineata Wang, 1981 andL. orientalis Xu et al., 1981 in northern China . ...
... orientalis Xu et al., 1981 in northern China . The past 5 years have witnessed the discovery of three new species of the genus (i.e., L. bellacauda, L. brachycephala Guo & Zhang, 2021 and L. micra Bohlen & Slechtova, 2017) and the validation of L. citrauratea (Nichols, 1925) Guo & Zhang, 2021). This clearly means that the taxonomy of this genus is still poorly understood. ...
... The specific status of L. compressicauda remains contentious. It was regarded as a distinct species (Nalbant, 2002), a subspecies of L. tientainensis (Chen, 1980;Fang & Xu, 1980;Zhu, 1995), or even synonymised with L. tientainensis (Bohlen & Slechtova, 2017;Kottelat, 2004Kottelat, , 2012. Our photographic and X-ray examination of the holotype (AMNH 9682) confirmed that L. compressicauda has no black spots on the caudal fin ( Figure 11a L. bellacauda is so far known from some streams on the southern bank of the lower Chang-Jiang in southern Anhui Province or on the northern slope of the Huangshan-Tianmu mountains. ...
Article
Two new species of Leptobotia are here described as L. rotundilobus from the Xin'an-Jiang of the upper Qiantang-Jiang basin in both Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces and the Cao'e-Jiang in Zhejiang Province, and L. paucipinna from the Qing-Jiang of the middle Chang-Jiang basin in Hubei Province, South China. Both have a plain brown body as found in L. bellacauda Bohlen & Šlechtová, 2016, L. microphthalma Fu & Ye, 1983, Zoological Research, 4, 121-124 L. posterodorsalis Chen & Lan, 1992 and L. tientainensis (Wu 1930). The two new species are distinct from these species in vertebral counts, further from L. posterodorsalis in vent placement and further from the other three species in pectoral-fin length. Both differ in caudal-fin coloration and shape, and dorsal-fin location and coloration, and also in internal morphology. Their validity is confirmed by their own monophyly recovered in a phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cyt b and COI genes.
... Two species -L. flavolineata Wang, 1981 and L. orientalis Xu, Fang & Wang, 1981 -occur in northern China (Tang et al. 2008;Kottelat 2012;Bohlen and Šlechtová 2017). Nichols et al. (1925) described Leptobotia citrauratea from the Dongting Lake system in Hunan Province, China. ...
... However, Nalbant (2002) regarded L. citrauratea to be a valid species. Bohlen and Šlechtová (2017), based on examination of the holotype and non-topotypical specimens from the Poyang Lake system in Jiangxi Province, southern China, recognised L. citrauratea as a valid species. A row of orange dots or an orange stripe along the dorsal mid-line distinguishes it from L. elongata. ...
Article
Full-text available
Leptobotia citrauratea (Nichols, 1925), a loach species, originally described from Dongting Lake, was recently rehabilitated, based on the examination of the holotype and non-topotypical specimens. Several field surveys conducted from 2016 to 2019 in Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces, P.R. China, yielded many specimens of Leptobotia which were initially identified as L. citrauratea . Molecular and morphological analyses of these specimens demonstrated that two distinct species are involved. One was identified as L. citrauratea , represented by specimens from both the Poyang and Dongting Lake (type locality) systems in Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces, and the other species is described as L. brachycephala , represented by specimens from the Ou-Jiang and Qu-Jiang, two coastal rivers of Zhejiang Province, China. Leptobotia brachycephala resembles L. citrauratea and L. micra in having a row of orange dots or an orange stripe along the dorsal mid-line of the body, extending from the nape to the caudal-fin base – a unique character in Leptobotia . Leptobotia brachycephala differs from L. citrauratea and L. micra Bohlen & Šlechtová, 2017, in caudal-fin shape and pelvic-fin insertion and proportional measurements including caudal-fin length, head length, predorsal length and anal-fin length. Its species status was further corroborated by position in a molecular phylogenetic analysis, based on the mitochondrial cyt b gene and its minimum uncorrected p-distance (2.9%) from congeneric species.
... Two species -L. flavolineata Wang, 1981 and L. orientalis Xu, Fang & Wang, 1981 -occur in northern China (Tang et al. 2008;Kottelat 2012;Bohlen and Šlechtová 2017). Nichols et al. (1925) described Leptobotia citrauratea from the Dongting Lake system in Hunan Province, China. ...
... However, Nalbant (2002) regarded L. citrauratea to be a valid species. Bohlen and Šlechtová (2017), based on examination of the holotype and non-topotypical specimens from the Poyang Lake system in Jiangxi Province, southern China, recognised L. citrauratea as a valid species. A row of orange dots or an orange stripe along the dorsal mid-line distinguishes it from L. elongata. ...
Article
The identity and validity of Liobagrus kingi Tchang, 1935 remain contentious to date due to its inaccurate original description. A re-description is provided here for this species based on our examination on its type, hitherto deposited in ASIZB and available topotypic material. It is confirmed that L. kingi is a species with a serrated posterior edge of the pectoral-fin spine and distinct from the sympatrically existing species L. nigricauda. Comments on former recognitions of specimens from the upper Chang-Jiang basin as L. kingi are presented.
... guilinensis Chen, 1980; L. hansuiensis Fang & Hsu, 1980;L. hengyangensis Huang & Zhang, 1986; L. micra Bohlen & Šlechtová, 2017;L. microphthalma Fu & Ye, 1983; L. orientalis Xu, Fang & Wang, 1981;L. ...
Article
Full-text available
We report a new record of Leptobotia pellegrini Fang, 1936 from the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam, based on 25 specimens collected in the Kien stream (Ca River), Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province. Morphological features of these specimens were confirmed against the description of this species by Fang (1936). Our new data extend the species' geographic range southward by approximately 650 km from the Gam River (Na Hang, Tuyen Quang province), Vietnam.
... guilinensis Chen, 1980; L. hansuiensis Fang & Hsu, 1980;L. hengyangensis Huang & Zhang, 1986; L. micra Bohlen & Šlechtová, 2017;L. microphthalma Fu & Ye, 1983; L. orientalis Xu, Fang & Wang, 1981;L. ...
Article
Full-text available
We report a new record of Leptobotia pellegrini Fang, 1936 from the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam, based on 25 specimens collected in the Kien stream (Ca River), Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province. Morphological features of these specimens were confirmed against the description of this species by Fang (1936). Our new data extend the species’ geographic range southward by approximately 650 km from the Gam River (Na Hang, Tuyen Quang province), Vietnam.
... The three sympatrically existing congeneric species were later transferred to Leptobotia where B. citrauratea and B. purpurea were synonymised, respectively with L. elongata and L. taeniops (Bleeker, 1870) (Chen 1980;Kottelat 2004Kottelat , 2012. Recently, L. citrauratea was resurrected from the synonym of L. elongata, based on examination of the type and morphological data (Bohlen and Šlechtová 2017). Guo and Zhang (2021) also affirmed that L. citrauratea survives in Lake Dongting (type locality). ...
Article
Full-text available
A lack of an updated checklist of freshwater fish species from Lake Dongting is a big hindrance to further biodiversity analysis. A seasonal survey of fishes in the lake was conducted from October 2017 to January 2019. Based on the data obtained during the field survey and coupled with known literature and the latest taxonomic development of relevant taxa, the species checklist of fishes from Lake Dongting was updated. A total of 130 species from 12 orders, 30 families and 76 genera has been documented, containing 126 native species and four alien species. Its fish fauna is dominated by the Xenocyprididae that has the highest number of included species (30), followed by the Gobionidae (25) and Acheilognathidae (11). This checklist comprises 20 species undergoing nomenclatural changes and 11 new records, eight of which are native and three exotic. It excludes 20 species, which have been reported in error in historical works, owing to synonyms, erroneous records, taxonomic changes and unconfirmed records. Unsampled in this survey were 34 species that are ecologically specialized: migratory, rheophilic, predatory, shellfish-dependent or pelagic-egg-spawning. While some of these species eluded capture likely due to the paucity of population, others extirpated in Lake Dongting perhaps owing to human perturbations, such as river damming across affluents or the Chang-Jiang mainstem, sand dredging, overfishing or water pollution. The updated checklist lays a sound foundation for biodiversity conservation of fishes in Lake Dongting.
... The three sympatrically existing congeneric species were later transferred to Leptobotia where B. citrauratea and B. purpurea were synonymised, respectively with L. elongata and L. taeniops (Bleeker, 1870) (Chen 1980;Kottelat 2004Kottelat , 2012. Recently, L. citrauratea was resurrected from the synonym of L. elongata, based on examination of the type and morphological data (Bohlen and Šlechtová 2017). Guo and Zhang (2021) also affirmed that L. citrauratea survives in Lake Dongting (type locality). ...
Preprint
A lack of an updated checklist of freshwater fish species from Lake Dongting is a big hindrance to further biodiversity analysis. A seasonal survey of fishes in the lake was conducted from October 2017 to January 2019. Based on the data obtained during the field survey and coupled with known literature and the latest taxonomic development of relevant taxa, the species checklist of fishes from Lake Dongting was updated. A total of 130 species from 12 orders, 30 families and 76 genera has been documented, containing 126 native species and four alien species. Its fish fauna is dominated by the Xenocyprididae that has the highest number of included species (30), followed by the Gobionidae (25) and Acheilognathidae (11). This checklist comprises 20 species undergoing nomenclatural changes and 11 new records, eight of which are native and three exotic. It excludes 20 species, which have been reported in error in historical works, owing to synonyms, erroneous records, taxonomic changes and unconfirmed records. Unsampled in this survey were 34 species that are ecologically specialized: migratory, rheophilic, predatory, shellfish-dependent or pelagic-egg-spawning. While some of these species eluded capture likely due to the paucity of population, others extirpated in Lake Dongting perhaps owing to human perturbations, such as river damming across affluents or the Chang-Jiang mainstem, sand dredging, overfishing or water pollution. The updated checklist lays a sound foundation for biodiversity conservation of fishes in Lake Dongting.
Article
Full-text available
A new species, Leptobotia bellacauda is described from the lower Yangtze River basin. The new species is distinguished from all other species of Leptobotia by a combination of the following characters: body plain brown, prominent black bar in caudal fin, dorsal half of head dusky black, ventral half of head cream colour, eye well developed, lobes of caudal fin rounded, origin of pelvic fins beneath or anterior to dorsal-fin origin, and pectoral fin in adult males enlarged, with numerous tubercles.
Article
Full-text available
One of the most efficient mechanisms to keep animal lineages separate is a difference in ploidy level (number of whole genome copies), since hybrid offspring from parents with different ploidy level are functionally sterile. In the freshwater fish family Botiidae, ploidy difference has been held responsible for the separation of its two subfamilies, the evolutionary tetraploid Botiinae and the diploid Leptobotiinae. Diploid and tetraploid species coexist in the upper Yangtze, the Pearl River and the Red River basins in China. Interestingly, the species 'Botia' zebra from the Pearl River basin combines a number of morphological characters that otherwise are found in the diploid genus Leptobotia with morphological characters of the tetraploid genus Sinibotia, therefore the aim of the present study is to test weather 'B.' zebra is the result of a hybridisation event between species from different subfamilies with different ploidy level. A closer morphological examination indeed demonstrates a high similarity of 'B.' zebra to two co-occurring species, the diploid Leptobotia guilinensis and the tetraploid Sinibotia pulchra. These two species thus could have been the potential parental species in case of a hybrid origin of 'B.' zebra. The morphologic analysis further reveals that 'B.' zebra bears even the diagnostic characters of the genera Leptobotia (Leptobotiinae) and Sinibotia (Botiinae). In contrast, a comparison of six allozyme loci between 'B.' zebra, L. guilinensis and S. pulchra showed only similarities between 'B.' zebra and S. pulchra, not between 'B.' zebra and L. guilinensis. Six specimens of 'B.' zebra that were cytogenetically analysed were tetraploid with 4n = 100. The composition of the karyotype (18% metacentric, 18% submetacentric, 36% subtelocentric and 28% acrocentric chromosomes) differs from those of L. guilinensis (12%, 24%, 20% and 44%) and S. pulchra (20%, 26%, 28% and 26%), and cannot be obtained by any combination of genomes from L. guilinensis and S. pulchra. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear RAG-1 gene invariably places 'Botia' zebra as sister species to S. pulchra, while L. guilinensis is only distantly related. The presented combination of genetic data demonstrates that 'B.' zebra is not the result of a hybridisation, but a species of tetraploid genus Sinibotia with a striking morphological evolution towards an enormous similarity with a co-occurring, but not directly related species. The complete lack of knowledge of the ecology of these species, their main predators or their ecological interactions hampers any conclusion regarding the evolutionary advantage of such adaptation.
Article
Full-text available
A checklist of type specimens housed in the National Zoological Museum, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, is presented for research and scientific communication. Included are 80 holotypes, 1 lectotype, 1 neotype, 402 paratypes and 17 syntypes of 99 species belonging to 28 families and 12 orders. With 60 species, Cypriniformes has the largest representation. All of the specimens were collected in China and neighboring countries in the past 90 years.
Article
Botia kubotai, new species, is distinguished from all other species of the genus by its unique body colour pattern. In juveniles, three black stripes and five black bars leave four pairs of elongate yellow blotches; with increasing age, the bars and stripes widen, the yellow blotches become more slender and rows of small yellow spots are added in the stripes and in the bars. The nomenclature of Botiinae and the systematics of the South and Southeast Asian taxa are discussed. A new genus is named: Chromobotia ( type species: Cobitis macracanthus). Hymenphysa is a synonym of Botia and species usually placed in Hymenphysa should be called Syncrossus.
Article
The freshwater fish family Botiidae is represented by seven genera on the Indian subcontinent and in East and Southeast Asia and includes diploid as well as evolutionary tetraploid species. We present a phylogeny of Botiidae including 33 species representing all described genera using the mitochondrial cytochrome b and 12s rRNA genes to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among the genera and to estimate the number of polyploidisation events during their evolution. Our results show two major lineages, the subfamilies Leptobotiinae with the genera Leptobotia and Parabotia and Botiinae with the genera Botia, Chromobotia, Sinibotia, Syncrossus, and Yasuhikotakia. Our results suggest that two species that were traditionally placed into the genus Yasuhikotakia form a monophyletic lineage with the species of Sinibotia. A review of the data on the ploidy level of the included species shows all diploid species to belong to Leptobotiinae and all tetraploid species to Botiinae. A single polyploidisation event can therefore be hypothesised to have occurred in the ancestral lineage leading to the Botiinae.
A new species of fishes of the genus Leptobotia (family Cobitidae) from China
  • T Q Xu
  • S M Fang
  • H Y Wang
Xu, T.Q., Fang, S.M. & Wang, H.Y. (1981) A new species of fishes of the genus Leptobotia (family Cobitidae) from China. Zoological Research, 2, 379-381.
3 mm SL; PR China: Zhejiang: River in Tiantai Mountains. Leptobotia tchangi: IAPG 9167-9172, 6 specimens, 62.6-111.8 mm SL, PR China: Zhejiang: Qiantang River. Further data taken from Aquatic Research Institute of Guangxi
  • Li
IAPG A9173, 1 specimen, 51.3 mm SL; PR China: Zhejiang: River in Tiantai Mountains. Leptobotia tchangi: IAPG 9167-9172, 6 specimens, 62.6-111.8 mm SL, PR China: Zhejiang: Qiantang River. Further data taken from Aquatic Research Institute of Guangxi (2006), Bohlen & Šlechtová (2016), Li et al. (2008), Xu et al. (1981), and Ye et al. (2015).