Schistura sexnubes, a new diminutive river loach from the upper Mekong basin, Yunnan Province, China (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae).
An ichthyofaunistic survey of Mekong tributaries in Lincang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China yielded a new species of nemacheilid loach, herein described as Schistura sexnubes species nova. The new species is readily distinguishable from its congeners by the following combination of characters: 8+8 branched caudal fin rays, an incomplete lateral line, a dissociated caudal bar, a shallow caudal peduncle depth (7.6%-9.6% SL; respectively caudal peduncle 1.76-1.95 times longer than deep), a diminutive size of less than 50 mm SL, and no sexual dimorphism. A dorsocephalic pattern consisting of a black, forward directed V-shaped formation located between the nares, and a white, ovoid blotch on the upper operculum serves as an autapomorphy.
Qingshan Road 601, Qingdao, China. marco.endruweit@yahoo.de.
Marco
M
Endruweit
D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003531:Cypriniformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*; D003710:Demography; D045483:Rivers
Mekong basin; Nemacheilidae; New species; Schistura sexnubes; Yunnan