Triplophysa anshuiensis, Wu, Tie-Jun, Wei, Mu-Lan, Lan, Jia-Hu & Du, Li-Na, 2018

Wu, Tie-Jun, Wei, Mu-Lan, Lan, Jia-Hu & Du, Li-Na, 2018, Triplophysaanshuiensis, a new species of blind loach from the Xijiang River, China (Teleostei, Nemacheilidae), ZooKeys 744, pp. 67-77 : 69-71

Triplophysa anshuiensis sp. n. Figures 1, 2, 3; Table 1

Type specimens.

Holotype. Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, KIZ2012005747, 65.2 mm standard length, Anshui Village, Lingyun County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China; 24.3632N, 106.7412E, Altitude 719 m; collected by J. H. Lan, 12 May 2012. Paratypes. Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, KIZ 2012005746, 68.5 mm SL; collected with holotype.

Diagnosis.

Triplophysa anshuiensis can be distinguished from all species of Triplophysa by the following combination of characters: eyes absent, gill rakers absent in outer row and eight gill rakers in inner row on first gill arch, 14 branched caudal-fin rays, body scaleless, tips of depressed pectoral fins not reaching pelvic-fin origin, 12-13 preoperculo-mandibular pores, lateral line complete, posterior chamber of air bladder developed.

Description.

Morphometric data of type specimens of Triplophysa anshuiensis are given in Table 1. D, 4/7-8; A, 2/6; P, 1/10; V, 1/6, C, 14; 8 inner gill rakers in inner row on first gill arch (n=1). Cephalic lateral-line canals with 2+2 supra-temporal, 8 supraorbital, 4+8-9 infraorbital, and 12-13 preoperculo-mandibular pores. Lateral line complete, with 52-54 pores.

Body elongated, slightly compressed anteriorly, more strongly compressed posteriorly. Deepest point of body in front of dorsal-fin origin, body depth 12-16% of SL. Head compressed, maximum width greater than depth. Anterior and posterior nostrils adjacent, anterior nostril in short tube with elongated barbel-like tip, tip of nostril barbel reaching posterior margin of posterior nostrils. Eyes absent. Mouth inferior, mouth corner situated below anterior nostril. Lips thick with shallow furrows; lower lip with a “V” type median notch. Upper and lower jaw arched, processus dentiformis on upper jaw absent and no corresponding notch on lower jaw. Three pairs of barbels; inner rostral barbel 50-54 % of lateral head length; outer rostral barbel 20-26 % of lateral head length; maxillary barbel 36-39 % of lateral head length. Body scaleless. Intestine straight. Posterior chamber of air bladder developed, reaching dorsal-fin origin (Fig. 3).

Dorsal fin distally truncate, origin anterior to pelvic-fin insertion, situated slightly anterior to midpoint between tip of snout and caudal-fin base; first branched ray longest, reaching anus when adpressed vertically. Anal fin distally truncate. Pectoral fins moderately developed, 60-67 % of distance between pectoral and pelvic fins. Tip of depressed pelvic fin reaching anus. Anus short distance from anal-fin origin. Caudal fin forked, tips pointed.

Coloration. Fixation in 8 % formalin, body yellowish. Black pigments irregularly present on dorsum of body.

Sexual dimorphism. No sexual dimorphism was observed in the two specimens.

Distribution.

A karst cave in Anshui Village, Lingyun County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, whichis interconnected with the Hongshui River system, a tributary of the Xijiang River in the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) Drainage.

Habitat and ecology.

An underground stream was found about 40 m from and 10 m below the entrance to a cave. Triplophysa anshuiensis inhabits pools in which the substratum is mud and cobblestones (Fig. 2). Pools are interconnected by underwater channels. No other species were recorded in this cave.

Etymology.

The specific name, anshuiensis , is derived from the village Anshui, the type locality of the species.