Niwaella xinjiangensis, Chen & Chen, 2005

Chen, Yifeng & Chen, Yongxia, 2005, Revision of the genus Niwaella in China (Pisces, Cobitidae), with description of two new species, Journal of Natural History 39 (19), pp. 1641-1651 : 1649-1651

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930400014189
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BF9465DF-9F9E-469D-BB9F-571458B59427
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6A72FBAF-054C-42F9-B60C-39F82E309E39
taxon LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:act:6A72FBAF-054C-42F9-B60C-39F82E309E39
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Niwaella xinjiangensis
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Niwaella xinjiangensis View in CoL sp. n.

( Figures 1E View Figure 1 , 2C View Figure 2 , 3C View Figure 3 , 4C View Figure 4 , 6 View Figure 6 )

Material examined

Holotype: no. 90 V1610 , female, 67.4 mm TL, 58.2 mm SL. Type locality: The Xinjiang River , the main upper stream of the Boyanghu Lake (belongs to the Yangtze River System ), Guangfeng County, 28 ° 26.19N, 119 ° 10.29E, Jiangxi Province, China, May 1990. GoogleMaps

Paratypes: nos 90IV1093–8, male and female, 77.3– 61.7 mm TL, 66.1– 52.8 mm SL, six specimens, from type locality. nos 90 V1606–9 , 90 V1611 , 90 V1613–5 , male and female, 78.3–64.0 mm TL, 67.3–55.0 mm SL, eight specimens collected from the Xinjiang Stream, Shangrao City, 28 ° 28.39N, 118 ° 19E, Jiangxi Province GoogleMaps .

All specimens kept in FFM, IHB, CAS, Wuhan, Hubei Province.

Etymology

This species is known only from Xinjiang River so far, and its name is Latin for ‘‘of Xinjiang’’.

Description D. iv-6; A. iii-5; V. i-6; P. i-7. Vertebral 4 + 40–43. Morphmetric characters are given in

Table I. Caudal peduncle longer than other species of the genus Niwaella , depth of caudal peduncle 1.2–1.7 (1.4) in its length.

Body moderately small, elongated and laterally compressed. Dorsal surface and abdomen almost parallel. Small head, slightly compressed, snout bluntly rounded, its length longer than that of space between eye and nape. Mouth small, inferior, with developed mental lobes. Barbels thick, shorter than eye diameter ( Figure 2C View Figure 2 ). Eye interorbital width equal to or longer than diameter. Lateral line short, exceeding length of pectorals.

Dorsal fin is moderately long, and the tip blunt, situated in front half of the space between nape and caudal fin. Pelvic fin short and small, and approximately on the same line with dorsal fin, exceeding one-third of the distance between pelvic fin and anal fin. Anal fin was short and small, situated in second half of the space between pelvic fin and caudal fin, and with tip blunt. Caudal peduncle long, tip emarginate, adipose crests developed.

Head naked, body scales are small, round or near square, with a large eccentric focal area (being closer to the base), and 24–25 radial grooves, with few supplementary radial grooves. The radial grooves in the front and on the side of scale are broad and sparse, at the base of scale closely spaced ( Figure 3C View Figure 3 ). Suborbital spine slightly curved ( Figure 4C View Figure 4 ).

Pigmentation pattern

Body pale yellowish. Head sprinkled with many black spots, a black stripe visible from nape through eye to first barbel insertion. Dorsal body colour pattern of angular black stripes, 17–20 large, long, dark brown vertical bars on the dorsolateral surface and a dark stripe along the lateral midline beyond the dorsal fin, and then gradually below the lateral midline. There are three or five striations on the caudal fin and dorsal fin, and a conspicuous dark spot on the upper part of the caudal base.

Sexual dimorphism

Not evident.

Remarks

This new species is easily distinguished from other Niwaella species by its colour pattern of 17–20 large, long, dark brown vertical bars on the dorsolateral surface, a dark stripe or rounded black spots along the lateral midline and some blotches below the lateral midline; large-sized species, shorter barbels; longer caudal peduncle (Table II).

Distribution

Previously the species was known only in Xinjiang River.