taxonID	type	description	language	source
215A5CA1992156F5AC91EA04224D1800.taxon	description	Fig. 1	en	Qin, Zhi-Xian, Zhou, Jia-Jun, Du, Li-Na, Lin, Feng (2025): Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1013-1021, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.146077
215A5CA1992156F5AC91EA04224D1800.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by having many small spots organized in a single row along the mid-lateral line from the upper extremity of the gill opening to the caudal-fin base on the flank; a nearly-triangular black blotch on the caudal-fin base; lateral oblique brownish stripes confined only to the anterior half of body and more or less fused to constitute an oblong blotch not exceeding the adpressed tip of the pelvic-fin rays; no submarginal black streaks on the caudal-fin lobes; caudal fin with 3 – 4 rows of irregular spots.	en	Qin, Zhi-Xian, Zhou, Jia-Jun, Du, Li-Na, Lin, Feng (2025): Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1013-1021, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.146077
215A5CA1992156F5AC91EA04224D1800.taxon	description	Description. Morphometric and meristic data given in Table 1. Body elongated, broad anteriorly and tapering posteriorly. Body deeper than wide, with maximum body depth at dorsal-fin origin being 17.7 % – 21.1 % of SL, gradually declining from dorsal-fin origin to caudal-fin base. Snout blunt, slightly longer than lateral head length. Mouth arched and subterminal. Both lips papillated; upper lip bearing two rows of papillae, with two median papillae larger than lateral ones, and outer papillae slightly larger than inner papillae. Lower lip interrupted medially, forming wide V-shaped notch. Jaws covered by lips, with well-developed processus dentiformis on upper jaw. Nostrils closely set; anterior nostril elongated into tubular projection with pointed tip and posterior nostril oval. Eyes relatively large, with their diameter slightly smaller than interorbital width. Three pairs of barbels: inner rostral barbels reaching posterior nostril and outer rostral barbel extending to middle point of eye; maxillary barbel extending to vertical through posterior margin of eye. Dorsal fin with three unbranched and 11 – 13 branched rays, with truncate distal margin; origin nearer to snout tip than to caudal-fin base, and inserted slightly before pelvic-fin insertion. Pectoral fin with one unbranched and 10 – 11 branched rays; inserted immediately anterior to vertical through posteriormost point of operculum; tip of adpressed fins reaching dorsal-fin origin. Pelvic fin with one unbranched and seven branched rays; inserted closer to anal-fin origin than to pectoral-fin insertion; tip of adpressed fins not reaching anus. Anal fin with three unbranched and five branched rays, originating equidistant to pelvic-fin insertion and caudal-fin base, or below or slightly anterior to vertical line of dorsal-fin tip; tip of adpressed fin not reaching caudal-fin base. Caudal fin slightly concave, with 16 – 17 branched rays, slightly longer than deep (caudal-peduncle length / its depth 1.0 – 1.3). Irregular spots on dorsal, anal, and caudal fins; dorsal and anal fins with marginal stripes. Among the 12 examined specimens, individual variation in the dorsal surface (before the dorsal-fin) coloration was observed, with 10 specimens showing a plain, light gray back without markings and two displaying distinct patterning (Fig. 1 E – G). Except for head, body completely covered with small scales and embedded under skin. Lateral line complete, cephalic lateral system with 11 – 13 + 3 infraorbital canal pores, 7 – 8 supraorbital canal pores, 3 supratemporal canal pores, and 7 – 8 preoperculomandibular canal pores. Swim bladder bipartite; anterior chamber fully enclosed by capsule, and posterior chamber well-developed and ovoid, and connected to U-shaped stomach. Intestine short, looping once at midsection (Fig. 2). Gill opening large, extending downward beyond pectoral-fin insertion to ventral surface of head; first gill arch with 12 – 14 inner gill rakers and 0 – 2 outer gill rakers.	en	Qin, Zhi-Xian, Zhou, Jia-Jun, Du, Li-Na, Lin, Feng (2025): Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1013-1021, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.146077
215A5CA1992156F5AC91EA04224D1800.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The specific epithet punctulatus is derived from the Latin word “ punctum ”, meaning “ spot ” or “ point ”, referring to numerous spots observed on the dorsal and caudal fins and along the mid-lateral line of body. This body coloration represents a key unique diagnostic character used to differentiate it from all congeneric species. The common Chinese name suggested here for the new species is “ 斑点沙猫鳅 ” and the English name is “ Spotted Traccatichthys. ” The gender is masculine.	en	Qin, Zhi-Xian, Zhou, Jia-Jun, Du, Li-Na, Lin, Feng (2025): Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1013-1021, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.146077
215A5CA1992156F5AC91EA04224D1800.taxon	distribution	Distribution. The new species is so far found in streams on the western slope of Dayao mountains in Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, Laibin City, Guangxi, China, all of them discharging into the Liu-Jiang of the Zhu-Jiang basin (Fig. 3).	en	Qin, Zhi-Xian, Zhou, Jia-Jun, Du, Li-Na, Lin, Feng (2025): Traccatichthys punctulatus sp. nov., a new species of stone loach (Pisces, Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, southern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (3): 1013-1021, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.146077
