Balitora dehouensis, a new species of cave-dwelling hillstream loach (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Balitoridae) from the upper Red River, southwestern China

By

Lei, Hao-Tian
Pu, Xin-Rui
Yang, Hongfu
Zhu, Ming-Xin
Mo, Hao-Lin
Liu, Xiao-Yu
Wang, Mo
Bi, Bao-Liang

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-8-26

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

101

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

1569--1584

Subjects

Balitora , Balitoridae , cavefish , Morphology , Phylogeny

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.157180

 

Abstract

A new species of cave-dwelling hillstream loach (Balitoridae, Cypriniformes), Balitora dehouensissp. nov. is described from a cave in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Balitora dehouensissp. nov. is confirmed to be a distinct species by morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene as well as the nuclear recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1), interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP), and early growth response protein 2B (EGR2B). Balitora ludongensis is confirmed to be the third cave-dwelling member of Balitora, after B. anlongensis and B. dehouensis.