Sinibotia lani, Wu & Yang, 2019

Wu, Tie-Jun & Yang, Jian, 2019, Sinibotia lani, a new species of botiid loach (Teleostei: Botiidae) from Guangxi, China, Zootaxa 4679 (1), pp. 97-106 : 98-101

Sinibotia lani sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–2 )

Holotype. NNU 201707001, 53.1 mm standard length (SL), a market in Longzhou County, Guangxi, China, reportedly collected in Zuojiang River close to Longzhou; 22°20.75'N, 106°51.5'E; collected by J. H. Lan, July 2017.

Paratypes. NNU 201707002–07008, 7 specimens, 49.7–63.63 mm SL; collected with holotype .

Diagnosis. Sinibotia lani is distinguished from all other species of Sinibotia by a combination of the following characters: body depth 17.5–21.1% SL; snout length shorter than postorbital length of head; eye diameter 10.2–13.2% HL; interorbital width 16.0–18.6 % HL; bifid suborbital spine reaching or extending beyond postorbital margin of eye; lower lip with pair of fleshy button-like clusters of papillae; dorsal-fin origin opposite to pelvic-fin origin, pelvic fin not reaching anus; six dark vertical bars on the body.

Description. Morphometric and meristic data of S. lani are given in Table 1 . General appearance and mouth in ventral view of S. lani are shown in Figs. 1–2 , respectively. Body elongate and compressed. Dorsal profile slightly more convex than ventral profile. Body depth at dorsal-fin origin 17.5–21.1% SL.

Head elongate and compressed, head depth almost 46.3–54.7% head length. No fontanelle on cranium. Snout long, pointed; snout length shorter than postorbital length of head. No scales on cheek. Eyes small, dorsolateral; eye diameter narrower than interorbital width. Suborbital groove present under eye and extends beyond posterior edge of eye. Suborbital spine bifid, minute fork occurs under anterior origin of eye; tip of larger spine almost reaches posterior margin of eye. Nostrils close together and separated by fleshy flap, nearer to eye than to tip of snout. Mouth inferior. Lips wrinkled, continuous at mouth angle; pair of fleshy button-like clusters of papillae on lower lip ( Fig. 2 ). Three pairs of barbels. Two pairs of rostral barbels closely placed, outer ones longer than inner ones. Rostral barbels not reaching mouth angle. Maxillary barbels not reaching vertical line of anterior margin of eyes, their lengths shorter than rostral barbels. Lateral line complete, along middle of body. Scales small, partially overlapping and embedded.

Fins short. Dorsal fin with 8 branched rays, origin nearer to caudal-fin base than to tip of snout. Pectoral fin short, with 13–14 branched rays; pectoral-fin length less than half distance between pectoral-fin origin and pelvicfin origin. Pelvic fin with 7 branched rays, origin opposite to dorsal-fin origin; pelvic fin not reaching anus. Anus anterior to anal-fin origin. Anal fin not reaching caudal-fin base. Caudal fin deeply forked, lobes rounded. Caudalpeduncle length almost equal to its depth.

Colouration. In preserved specimens, head and body light brown. Side of head with narrow light brown longitudinal streak originating from upper corner of gill opening, running across upper margin of eye and nostril, ending on snout. Six dark vertical bars on body; interspaces narrower than bars; color of bars under lateral line diminish. Dorsal and anal fins with median dark band. Caudal fin with two dark wavy transverse bands on each lobe, anterior band continuous across entire fin.

Distribution. Sinibotia lani is presently known only from the type location in Longzhou County, Guangxi, China, in the Zuojiang River drainage ( Fig. 3 ).

Etymology. The new species is named in appreciation of Mr. Lan Jiahu, Du’an Fisheries Technology Extension Department, Guangxi, China, who collected the type specimens of the new species. Since 1987, his explorations in south China hve revealed about 50 new species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal, lateral and ventral views of Sinibotia lani sp. nov., NNU 201707001, holotype, 53.1 mm SL, market in Longzhou County, Guangxi, China.

FIGURE 2. Ventral view of mouth of Sinibotia lani sp. nov., NNU 201707001, holotype, 53.1 mm SL, market in Longzhou County, Guangxi, China.

FIGURE 3. Map showing the distribution of Sinibotia species: Sinibotia superciliaris (●), Sinibotia reevesae (○), Sinibotia longiventralis (■), Sinibotia pulchra (▲), Sinibotia robusta (▼), Sinibotia zebra (◆), and Sinibotia lani (★).