Description of <i>Triplophysa luochengensis</i> sp. nov. (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from a karst cave in Guangxi, China

Abstract

A new cave-dwelling fish Triplophysa luochengensis is described based on specimens collected from a karst cave in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, that is interconnected to the Hongshui River drainage. The species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters: eyes degenerated, anal fin with six branched rays, caudal fin with 16-17 branched rays, pectoral-fin length 72·4-95·8% of the distance between pectoral-fin origin and pelvic-fin origin, lateral head length 26·2-28·2% of standard length (L_S ), eye diameter 7·5-8·6 of L_S , body covered by sparse scales, lateral line complete and 7-8 pre-operculo-mandibular pores. Dark pigments irregularly present on dorsum of head, dorsum and flank.