ArticlePublisher preview available

Amblyceps improcerum, a new sisoroid catfish from Kachin State, Myanmar (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae)

Authors:
Heok Hee Ng at University of Michigan
Heok Hee Ng
Maurice Kottelat at /
Maurice Kottelat
  • /
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract and Figures

A new species of amblycipitid catfish is here described from the Indawgyi Lake basin of the Irrawaddy River drainage in Kachin State, Myanmar as Amblyceps improcerum, new species. It can be distinguished from congeners in having a unique combination of the following characters: lower jaw longer than upper; head length 17.4–22.3% SL; head width 13.7–15.2% SL; head depth 9.0–11.7% SL; interorbital distance 31–39% HL; eye diameter 7–10% HL; 37–38 vertebrae; lateral line incomplete; predorsal length 25.5–30.7% SL; smooth posterior margin of pectoral spine; pectoral-fin length 13.5–16.8% SL; pelvic-fin length 9.6–13.4% SL; dorsal-to-adipose distance 25.2–28.7% SL; length of adipose-fin base 19.4–23.3% SL; adipose fin separate from dorsal procurrent caudal-fin rays; preanal length 62.1–66.9% SL; body depth at anus 9.8–12.8% SL; depth of caudal peduncle 10.1–12.6% SL; length of caudal peduncle 21.4–24.0% SL, post-adipose distance 15.8–17.8% SL; weakly-forked caudal fin with short broadly, rounded lobes (length of longest ray 1.3–1.5 times length of median rays); centrally projecting hooks on proximal lepidotrichia of median caudal-fin rays absent.
Figures - available from: Environmental Biology of Fishes
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
Learn more
Content available from Environmental Biology of Fishes
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Amblyceps improcerum, a new sisoroid catfish from Kachin
State, Myanmar (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae)
Heok Hee Ng &Maurice Kottelat
Received: 3 October 2017 /Accepted: 29 December 2017 /Published online: 7 January 2018
#Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract A new species of amblycipitid catfish is here
described from the Indawgyi Lake basin of the Irrawad-
dy River drainage in Kachin State, Myanmar as
Amblyceps improcerum, new species. It can be distin-
guished from congeners in having a unique combination
of the following characters: lower jaw longer than up-
per; head length 17.4–22.3% SL; head width 13.7–
15.2% SL; head depth 9.0–11.7% SL; interorbital dis-
tance 31–39% HL; eye diameter 7–10% HL; 37–38
vertebrae; lateral line incomplete; predorsal length
25.5–30.7% SL; smooth posterior margin of pectoral
spine; pectoral-fin length 13.5–16.8% SL; pelvic-fin
length 9.6–13.4% SL; dorsal-to-adipose distance 25.2–
28.7% SL; length of adipose-fin base 19.4–23.3% SL;
adipose fin separate from dorsal procurrent caudal-fin
rays; preanal length 62.1–66.9% SL; body depth at anus
9.8–12.8% SL; depth of caudal peduncle 10.1–12.6%
SL; length of caudal peduncle 21.4–24.0% SL, post-
adipose distance 15.8–17.8% SL; weakly-forked caudal
fin with short broadly, rounded lobes (length of longest
ray 1.3–1.5 times length of median rays); centrally
projecting hooks on proximal lepidotrichia of median
caudal-fin rays absent.
Keywords Ostariophysi .Sisoroidea .Irrawaddy river .
New species
Introduction
The genus Amblyceps currently contains 21 described
species of small-bodied, elongate catfishes found in
moderate to fast moving streams and rivers of South
and mainland Southeast Asia and can be distinguished
from confamilials by characters in the neurocranium,
suspensorium, branchial and caudal skeletons
(described in Chen and Lundberg 1995). The distribu-
tion range of Amblyceps species covers much of south-
ern Asia, ranging from the Hab River drainage in Paki-
stan eastwards to the lower Mekong River drainage and
southwards to the Krishna River drainage in peninsular
India and the Terengganu River drainage in the Malay
Peninsula (Ng and Kottelat 2000;Ng2001;Kottelat
2013; Dahanukar et al. 2016).
During ichthyological surveys of the Indawgyi Lake
basin, Irrawaddy River drainage in Myanmar, conduct-
ed in 2013–2014 by the Forest Department, the Zoology
Department of Myitkyina University and Fauna & Flora
International, a distinctive species of Amblyceps having
a forked caudal fin with short, broad lobes was collected
by MK. Detailed comparison between this material and
congeners reveal these specimens to belong to an
undescribed species, which we name here as Amblyceps
improcerum.
Environ Biol Fish (2018) 101:459–467
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-017-0712-0
H. H. Ng (*):M. Kottelat
c/o Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, 2 Conservatory
Drive, Singapore 117377, Singapore
e-mail: heokhee.ng@gmail.com
M. Kottelat
Rue des Rauraques 6, 2800 Delémont, Switzerland
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
Amblyceps crassioris, a new sisoroid catfish from Odisha, India (Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae)
Article
Full-text available
Amblyceps crassioris, a new species of amblycipitid catfish, is described from the Mahanadi River basin in Odisha, India. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners in having a combination of the following characters: a deeply forked cau-dal fin, centrally projecting hooks on proximal lepidotrichia of median caudal-fin rays absent, jaws equal in length, lateral line absent, body depth at anus 15.1%-19.5% standard length (SL), caudal peduncle depth 13.0%-18.3% SL, adipose-fin base length 21.1%-27.1% SL, eye diameter 7.35%-14.1% head length and 38 total vertebrae. K E Y W O R D S biogeography, cryptic diversity, Eastern Ghats, Mahanadi River, Sisoroidea
View
View
Integrative taxonomy peeps a new torrent catfish species of genus Amblyceps (Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae) in Kaladan River of Mizoram, India
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
  • MOL BIOL REP
Background Explorations of the Kaladan River of Mizoram, India during the last decade have given a large number of new species. Integrative taxonomy, when used at the time of discovery of new species, can correlate the morphological characters with the species-specific DNA signatures and ameliorate the process of species identification. Based on this approach, Amblyceps hmolaii sp. nov., a new torrent catfish species is described from the Kaladan River drainage. Methods and results The new species is distinguished from all twenty-two congeners by morphometric measurements and meristic counts. Sequence analysis of mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), generated in this study and those available in NCBI, separated A. hmolaii sp. nov. from seven species of Amblyceps. Analysis of COI sequences, with ABGD software to delimit the species, also provided eight stable groups corresponding to the eight species of Amblyceps. The new species was separated from its congeners with an average genetic distance of 11.77%. Maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic tree was constructed using the best fit nucleotide substitution model HKY + G + I. Conclusion This study used all the twenty-two congeners in morphomeristic analysis and seven congeners in molecular analysis, for comparison with the new species. This approach unambiguously resolved the new species from other species of Amblyceps and created its species-specific DNA signatures. The discovery of new species even marked the first record of genus Amblyceps from the Kaladan drainage.
View
Two new species of loaches from the Irrawaddy River basin, Chin State, Myanmar (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae)
Article
  • Dec 2020
Schistura falamensis, a new species of nemacheilid loach, is described from the main channel of the Manipur River in the Irrawaddy River basin, Chin State, western Myanmar. It differs from other congeners of the genus Schistura by a combination of the following characters: 5–8 vertical bars on body; indistinct bars in front of dorsal-fin origin; bars on posterior part of body regular, twice as wide as interspace; black caudal basal bar dissociated, short, not reaching ventral extremity; males with suborbital flap; lateral line complete; and processus dentiformis weak. Schistura altuscauda is a new species described from the Htin stream, Mindat Town, Chin State, Myanmar. It can be distinguished from other congeners by a combination of the following characters: high caudal peduncle (14.0–20.3% SL), strong processus dentiformis on upper jaw; 7–19 bars on flank of body, bars in front of dorsal fin obviously thinner than those behind, sometimes fused in front of dorsal fin; lateral line complete; males with prominent suborbital flap; and pelvic lobe present.
View
Opsarius putaoensis, a new species of subfamily Danioninae (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from the Irrawaddy River basin in northern Myanmar
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2019
Opsarius putaoensis, new species, is described from the Mali Hka River, a tributary of the Irrawaddy River in northern Myanmar. For convenience of identification, Opsarius sensu Rainboth (1991) in Southeast Asia and India can be divided into two species groups based on the number of anal-fin rays: (1) the O. gatensis species group with more than 12 branched anal-fin rays, and (2) the O. barna species group with fewer than 11 branched anal-fin rays. The remaining species of the O. barna species group can be divided into two species subgroups by the presence or absence of barbels: (1) the O. chatricensis species subgroup without barbels, and (2) the O. barnoides species subgroup with one or two pairs of barbels. Opsarius putaoensis sp. nov. is a member of the O. chatricensis species subgroup together with O. chatricensis, O. arunachalensis, and O. barna. Opsarius putaoensis is most similar to O. chatricensis in overall appearance, including the number of vertical bars and color pattern, but it differs from O. chatricensis by the following characters: insertion of dorsal not reaching posterior end of pelvic fin base vs. reaching, vertical bars 6−7 vs. 7−8, vertical bars extending to the lateral line vs. not, branched anal-fin rays 9 vs. 10, branched pelvic-fin rays 7 vs. 8, branched pectoral-fin rays 12, rarely 11 vs. 11, circumpeduncular scales 12 vs. 14, and scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line 7−8 vs. 6. It is distinguished from all other species of the genus Opsarius by a combination of the following characters: barbels absent, dentary with parallel rows of tubercles, snout much shorter than eye diameter, mouth gape below anterior edge of orbit, body deep with depth 25.6−33.3% SL, pectoral and pelvic axial scales lobate, lateral line completely perforated with 35−38 scales, scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line 7−8, predorsal scales 15, circumpeduncular scales 12, branched dorsal-fin rays 7, branched anal-fin rays 9, branched pelvic-fin rays 7, insertion of dorsal not reaching pelvic-fin base, body with 6−7 vertical bars, extending to lateral line, and distal edge of dorsal fin black.
View
Amblyceps accari, a new species of torrent catfish (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae) from the Western Ghats of India
Article
Full-text available
  • May 2016
  • ZOOTAXA
A new species of torrent catfish, Amblyceps accari, is described from the central region of the Western Ghats of India. The new species differs from all its congeners by having 12 branched anal-fin rays (vs. 7–10 in other Amblyceps, rarely 11 in A. tuberculatum). It differs further from all other species of the genus except A. murraystuarti and A. torrentis in having the adipose fin confluent with the dorsal procurrent part of the caudal fin and by the following combination of characters from all its congeners: jaws unequal with lower jaw weakly-projecting, pectoral spine smooth, adipose-fin origin opposite anal-fin origin, dorsal fin to adipose-fin distance more than one fourth of standard length, adipose fin long with its base more than one-fourth of standard length, and deeply forked caudal fin with minute, poorly developed, centrally projecting hooks on the proximal lepidotrichia of central caudal-fin rays. The discovery of the new species represents the first record of this genus from peninsular India.
View
Amblyceps waikhomi, a New Species of Catfish (Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae) from the Brahmaputra Drainage of Arunachal Pradesh, India
Article
Full-text available
Amblyceps waikhomi sp. nov. is described from the Nongkon stream which drains into the Noa Dehing River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, in Arunachal Pradesh, India. The new species can be distinguished from congeners (except A. torrentis) in having a deeper body depth at anus. It further differs from congeners (except A. mangois and A. serratum) in having fewer vertebrae, from A. mangois in lacking (vs. having) strongly-developed projections on the proximal lepidotrichia of the median caudal-fin rays, and in having a longer, wider, and deeper head; and from A. serratum in having a posteriorly smooth (vs. with 4-5 serrations) pectoral spine, and unequal jaw length (lower jaw longer and weakly-projecting anteriorly vs. equal upper and lower jaws). It additionally differs from A. murraystuarti, A. torrentis, A. apangi, A. laticeps, and A. cerinum in having a deeply forked (vs. emarginate or truncate) caudal fin. This species is the seventh amblycipitid species known to occur in the Ganga-Brahmaputra River system.
View
The fishes of the inland waters of Southeast Asia: A catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2013
  • RAFFLES B ZOOL
There are 3108 valid and named native fish species in the inland waters of Southeast Asia between the Irrawaddy and Red River drainages, the small coastal drainages between the Red River and Hainan, the whole Indochinese Peninsula, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Indonesia (excluding Papua Province, Waigeo, Aru [but Kai is included]), and the Philippines. They belong to 137 families. Their taxonomy and nomenclature are reviewed. The original descriptions of all 7047 recorded species-group names and 1980 genus-group names have been checked in the original works for correct spelling, types, type locality and bibliographic references. The bibliography includes about 4700 titles. Synonymies are given, based on published information as well as unpublished observations. The names of 49 introduced species and 347 extralimital taxa cited in the discussions have also been checked. The original descriptions of all species not present in the covered area but cited as type species of genera have been checked for availability, authorship, date and correct spelling. The availability of some family-group names has been checked when there was suspicion of possible nomenclatural problems. Bibliographic notes include new informations on the dates of publication of works by, among others, Bleeker, Bloch, Heckel and Steindachner and discussion of authorship of names in various works.
View
Schistura indawgyiana, a new loach from Lake Indawgyi basin, Myanmar (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)
Article
  • Jul 2017
  • ICHTHYOL EXPLOR FRES
Schistura indawgyiana, new species, is described from a hill stream, tributary of Lake Indawgyi, Myanmar. It is distinguished from other species of Schistura in Southeast Asia by having an irregular blackish midlateral stripe made of a row of closely-set, vertically elongated blotches; the absence of a regular saddle pattern on the back; a small oval black blotch at the middle of the base of the caudal fin; a reduced number of branched rays in pectoral (8-9), pelvic (7) and caudal fins (7 + 7); and an incomplete lateral line ending before the origin of the pelvic fin.
View
First record of the catfish genus Amblyceps Blyth, 1858 from China with the description of a new species (Osteichthyes: Amblycipitidae)
Article
  • Jul 2016
  • FOLIA ZOOL
Amblyceps yunnanensis, a new species, is described here based on the specimens collected from a tributary of the upper Irrawaddy in the western Yunnan Province, China. It differs from all its congeners by the following combination of morphological features: skin smooth with a complete lateral line; adipose-fin originates at vertical level from anterior one quarter of the length of the anal-fin base, in the form of a low and smooth edge; dorsal-fin with one very weak spine; pectoral-fins without spines; caudal-fin truncated without pinnate-like rays.
View
Study on the torrential catfish Amblyceps apangi Nath & Dey 1989 (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae) from Wokha district, Nagaland
Article
  • Feb 2009
Streams of Wokha district, Nagaland were surveyed (2005-2006) to document the torrential fish fauna. Amblyceps apangi Nath & Dey (1989) was collected from seven of the 12 streams surveyed, and found to be abundant in those streams. Detailed description of the study area, habitat characteristics of the streams, habitat ecology of the fish and a morphological study (based on 20 males and 20 females), is discussed.
View
Xiurenbagrus, a New Genus of Amblycipitid Catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes), and Phylogenetic Relationships among the Genera of Amblycipitidae
Article
  • Dec 1995
  • COPEIA
Xiurenbagrus, a new genus of the Amblycipitidae, is established for the single species Liobagrus xiurenensis Yue 1981. This taxon differs from confamilials by having two patches of vomerine teeth, lack of deep grooves along shafts of dorsal- and pectoral-fin spines, relatively acute snout, and short barbels. Xiurenbagrus xiurenensis is redescribed to include new data on its osteology and external morphology. The three genera of the Amblycipitidae, Xiurenbagrus, Amblyceps, and Liobagrus, are a monophyletic group. Monophyly of each genus is well supported by several synapomorphies of the skeleton and external soft anatomy. Within the Amblycipitidae, Amblyceps is the sister taxon of Liobagrus, a relationship supported by 10 synapomorphies.
View
View
Redescription of catfishes Amblyceps arunachalensis Nath & Dey and Amblyceps apangi Nath & Dey (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae)
Article
  • Mar 2007
Amblyceps arunachalensis and A. apangi are redescribed. A. arunachalensis has been resurrected from synonymy with A. mangois. A. arunachalensis markedly differs from A. mangois in general appearance of the body, the caudal fin lobes, eye diameter, caudal peduncle height, interorbital space, and the number of vertebrae. A. arunachalensis differs from A. apangi in characteristics relating to the rictal fold, caudal peduncle length, caudal peduncle height, caudal fin, fold on lips, adipose fin, and number of vertebrae.
View
Two new catfish species of the genus Amblyceps from Manipur, India (Teleostei: Amblycipitidae)
Article
  • Jun 2008
  • ICHTHYOL EXPLOR FRES
Amblyceps torrentis and A. tuberculatum, new species, are described from Chindwin basin in Manipur, India. Ambly ceps torrentis is similar to A. apangi and A. murraystuarti in general appearance. However, it differs from A. apangi in having equal jaws length and a smaller distance between eye and nasal barbel base. It differs from A. murraystuarti in presence of complete lateral line and equal jaw length. Amblyceps tuberculatum differs from A. mangois and A. arunachalensis in presence of a lateral line and from A. carinatum in having a wider interdorsal length and a longer adipose dorsal base.
View