Metadata

Troglonectes daqikongensis

(Deng, Wen, Xiao and Zhou 2016) Huang, Yang, Wu and Zhao 2019

Troglonectes daqikongensis
Troglonectes daqikongensis. reproduced from Deng, Wen, Xiao and Zhou (2016) under a Creative Commons Attribution License V4.0. Zookeys 637:47-59
ORDERSUB-ORDERFAMILY
CypriniformesCobitoidei Nemacheilidae

Synonyms

Oreonectes daqikongensis  Deng, Wen, Xiao and Zhou 2016

Country

China

Types

Holotype: CNGZNU20110128001 77.14mm TL and 61.46 mm SL. Paratypes: CNGZNU20110128002–CNGZNU20110128026 (25). Zoobank registered.

Distribution

Known only from the type locailty: Yaoshui Cave, Libo County, Guizhou, China.(N 25°17'05.1", E 107°44'54.3". Altitude 488 m). See Feng et al. (2021, 2021) for details of the type locality.

Habitat

This species was found only in the Daqikong scenic area. The opening of the cave was halfway up the mountain, and the distance from the opening to the pool was about 15–20 m. The cave got no sunshine because of the twisty pathway. A large number of Hipposideros armiger lived in the cave and a thick layer of bat dung was found on the ground. Groundwater extended into the cave, and the water rushed outside the cave in the case of heavy rain. The subterranean river belonged to the Dagou river system, and was the main river of the Libo County, which runs through the whole county, enters Guangxi from the Laocun Xiang, and was the major tributary of the Duliu River system.

Systematics

The sister species of T. daqikongensis is O. shuilongensis and this pair is sister to O. platycephalus (Deng et al. 2016).

There are 19 described species in the genus Troglonectes (Eschmeyer 2022), all expect one are hypogean fishes with reduced eyes, reduced pigment and reduced scales. The only epigean member of the genus is Troglonectes hechiensis Zhao, Liu, Du and Luo 2021. The epigean species is a member of a monophyletic group which also contains T. furcocaudalis, T. daqikongensis, T. jiarongensis and T. shuilongensis (Zhao, Liu, Du and Luo 2021).

Biological Notes

The whole body of the living species is pale pink and translucent, where the vertebra, body segment at caudal peduncle, cardinal gill, and internal organs are visible. Its body color is unlikely to change when it is fed in the laboratory under light for a long term. Feng et al. (2021, 2021) describe a new species of Caridina (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae) from the type locality. Caridina incolor is very troglomorphic, as is the fish, and this may indicate a long-evolving troglobitic community in this cave.

Conservation Status

MuG TLO [NE]

Museum Holdings

As above only.

Internet Resources

Genbank sequence

Key References

Waryani. B., Zhao, Y., Zhang, C., Abbasi, A.R., Ferrando, S., Dai, R., et al. Journal Article 2015 Surface architecture of the olfactory epithelium of two Chinese cave loaches (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae: Oreonectes).
Deng, H., Wen, H., Xiao, N. and Zhou, J. Journal Article 2016 A new blind species of the cave genus Oreonectes from Guizhou, China (Nemacheilidae)
Huang, J.Q., Yang, J., Wu, Z.Q. and Zhao, Y.H. Journal Article 2019 Oreonectes guilinensis (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae), a new loach species from Guangxi, China
Feng, S., Chen, Q-H. and Guo, Z.-L, Journal Article 2021 Utilizing integrative taxonomy uncovers a new stygobiotic Caridina species (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae) from Guizhou Province, China
Feng, S., Chen, Q.-H. and Guo, Z.-L. Journal Article 2021 Integrative taxonomy uncovers a new stygobiotic Caridina species (Decapoda, Caridea, Atyidae) from Guizhou Province, China
Zhao, L.-X., Liu, J.-H., Du, L.N. and Luo, F.G. Journal Article 2021 A new loach species of Troglonectes (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from Guangxi, China