A new cave-dwelling species of the genus Triplophysa (Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae) from southwest China

By

Zhu, Ting-Ting
Yuan, Feng-Hua
Zhang, Renyi
Zhao, Yahui

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-8-5

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

101

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

1383--1396

Subjects

cavefish , karst , Morphology , new loach , taxonomy

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.154380

 

Abstract

Based on morphological and molecular data, we described a new cave-dwelling species, Triplophysa xiuwenensissp. nov., from the karst region of southwest China. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following morphological characteristics: body scaleless without pigmentation; eye diameter of HL with 4.6–6.7%; tip of pelvic fin not reaching anus; outer rostral barbel reaching to posterior margin of eyes; 14–15 branched caudal fin rays. Phylogenetic relationships based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene support the validity of the new species. The discovery of the new species brings the number of cave-dwelling Triplophysa species in Guizhou Province to 15, making it the region with the highest number of Triplophysa cave species in the southwestern karst area.