Schizothorax

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Schizothorax
SchizothoraxPithoragarh.jpg
Schizothorax sp.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Barbinae
Genus: Schizothorax
Heckel, 1838
Type species
Schizothorax plagiostomus
Heckel, 1838
Synonyms

RacomaMcClelland & Griffith, 1842

Schizothorax is a genus of cyprinid fish found in southern and western China, through northern South Asia (Himalaya) and Central Asia, to Iran, with a single species, S. prophylax, in Turkey. [1] [2] [3] They are primarily found in highland rivers, streams and lakes, although a few species occur in lower-lying locations, like Lake Balkhash and lakes of the Sistan Basin. [1] [2] [4] [5] Their scientific name means "cloven-breast", from Ancient Greek schízeïn (σχίζειν) 'to cleave' and thórax (θώραξ) 'breast-plate' (see also thorax). The western species are typically referred to as marinkas from their Russian name marinka (маринка), while the eastern species are usually called snowtrout. Although they do resemble trouts in habitus this is merely due to convergent evolution and they are by no means closely related apart from both being Teleostei: Cyprinids are in the teleost superorder Ostariophysi, while trouts are in the superorder Protacanthopterygii. Their ancestors must thus have diverged as early as the Triassic, more than 200 million years ago.

Schizothorax is a part of the schizothoracines (snowtrout and allies), which also includes the genera Aspiorhynchus , Chuanchia , Diptychus , Gymnodiptychus , Gymnocypris , Oxygymnocypris , Platypharodon , Ptychobarbus , Schizopyge and Schizopygopsis . [6] The last two were formerly often included in the present genus, and their delimitation is still not entirely clear. In any case, the genus Schizothorax (and other "snowtrouts") are in turn related to such cyprinids as the typical barbels ( Barbus sensu stricto and the doubtfully distinct Luciobarbus and Messinobarbus ), Carasobarbus , Labeobarbus , Aulopyge and Cyprinion . They were thus placed in the subfamily Barbinae, which is quite paraphyletic however and thus here merged with the Cyprininae at least for the largest part (including the marinkas), becoming its junior synonym in the process. [7]

Species

Schizothorax curvifrons Schizothorax intermedius 45.jpg
Schizothorax curvifrons
Schizothorax plagiostomus Schizothorax plagiostomus.jpg
Schizothorax plagiostomus
Schizothorax waltoni Schizothorax waltoni.jpg
Schizothorax waltoni

There are currently 65 recognized species in this genus: [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprinidae</span> Family of freshwater fish

Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and the largest vertebrate animal family overall, with about 3,000 species; only 1,270 of these remain extant, divided into about 200 valid genera. Cyprinids range from about 12 mm in size to the 3 m (9.8 ft) giant barb. By genus and species count, the family makes up more than two-thirds of the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes. The family name is derived from the Greek word kyprînos.

<i>Acrossocheilus</i> Genus of fishes

Acrossocheilus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae, native to freshwater in China, Taiwan, Laos, and Vietnam. They are fairly small, no more than 30 cm (1 ft) in standard length.

<i>Diptychus</i> Genus of fishes

Diptychus is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish, consisting of two species found in Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau of China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, ranging west to the Tien Shan Mountains and Central Asia. The type species is the scaly osman, Diptychus maculatus. The name is derived from the Greek word di, meaning "two", and the Greek word ptyx, meaning "fold". Diptychus is up to 70 cm (2.3 ft) in total length.

Sinocyclocheilus is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae that is endemic to Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan in China. Almost all of its species live in or around caves and most of these have adaptions typical of cavefish such as a lack of scales, lack of pigmentation and reduced eyes. Several species have an unusual hunchbacked appearance and some of the cave-dwellers have a "horn" on the back, the function of which is unclear. In contrast, the Sinocyclocheilus species that live aboveground, as well as a few found underground, show no clear cavefish adaptions. They are relatively small fish reaching up to 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. The individual species have small ranges and populations, leading to the status of most of the evaluated species as threatened. Many species populations in the genus have yet to be evaluated by the IUCN.

<i>Alburnus</i> Genus of fishes

Alburnus is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. They are known commonly as bleaks. A group of species in the genus is known as shemayas. The genus occurs in the western Palearctic realm, and the center of diversity is in Turkey.

<i>Capoeta</i> Genus of fishes

Capoeta, also known as scrapers, is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Western Asia. The distribution extends from Turkey to the Levant, to Transcaucasia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, in Armenia, particularly in lake Sevan and northern Afghanistan. This genus is most closely related to Luciobarbus and in itself is divided into three morphologically, biogeographically and genetically distinct groups or clades: the Mesopotamian clade, the Anatolian-Iranian clade and the Aralo-Caspian clade.

<i>Garra</i> Genus of fishes

Garra is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae. These fish are one example of the "log suckers", sucker-mouthed barbs and other cyprinids commonly kept in aquaria to keep down algae. The doctor fish of Anatolia and the Middle East belongs in this genus. The majority of the more than 140 species of garras are native to Asia, but about one-fifth of the species are from Africa.

Squalius is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Europe and Asia. Hybridization is not rare in the Cyprinidae, including this genus. S. alburnoides is known to be of ancient hybrid origin, with the paternal lineage deriving from a prehistoric species related to Anaecypris; the latter mated with ancestral S. pyrenaicus. Present-day S. alburnoides mates with sympatric congeners of other species.

<i>Triplophysa</i> Genus of fishes

Triplophysa is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found mainly in and around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, as well as inland waters of the larger part of central Asia. Currently, the genus is a mixed assemblage of species. Some lineages have been identified and treated as subgenera, but as Wikipedia follows Fishbase for fish species all but Hedinichthys have been treated as subgenera in Wikipedia, although Kottelat in his revision of the loaches did recognise them as valid. FishBase, however, includes these in Triplophysa without specifying subgenera and treats the names given by Kottelat as synonyms.

Schizothorax prenanti, also known as Ya-fish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schizothorax from the middle and upper parts of the Yangtze basin in China. It is also known as Yayu, as it is native to the city of Ya'an, Sichuan.

Schizopyge is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish found in Pakistan and the northwestern part of India. Schizopyge is closely related to Schizothorax and some species have historically been moved between the two genera.

<i>Schizopygopsis</i> Genus of fishes

Schizopygopsis is a genus of cyprinid fish. Most species are endemic to river basins in the Himalayas and Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China, but S. stoliczkai extends into the highlands of Afghanistan, Iran, northern India, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan.

<i>Aphyocypris</i> Genus of fishes

Aphyocypris is a genus of cyprinid fishes consisting of eight species, all of which are restricted to East Asia.

Chuanchia labiosa is a species of cyprinid fish that is only found in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China, where it mostly inhabits slow-flowing cold waters at altitudes above 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It is the only member of its genus, but is related to other schizothoracines like Aspiorhynchus, Diptychus, Gymnodiptychus, Gymnocypris, Oxygymnocypris, Platypharodon, Ptychobarbus, Schizopyge, Schizopygopsis and Schizothorax.

<i>Gymnocypris</i> Genus of fishes

Gymnocypris is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to China.

<i>Microphysogobio</i> Genus of fishes

Microphysogobio is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to East Asia.

Platypharodon extremus is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the upper Yellow River basin in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China. It is the only member of its genus, but is related to other schizothoracines like Aspiorhynchus, Chuanchia, Gymnocypris, Oxygymnocypris, Ptychobarbus, Schizopyge, Schizopygopsis and Schizothorax.

Ptychobarbus is a genus of cyprinid fish that is found in rivers, streams and lakes in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau of China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, extending into the highlands of Afghanistan. They reach up to 2.2 kg (5 lb) in weight and about 65 cm (2.1 ft) in total length. They mostly feed on benthic invertebrates, but will also take planktonic organisms, aquatic plants and algae.

Xenophysogobio is a genus of cyprinid fish endemic to China. There are currently two described species in this genus.

Stenorynchoacrum xijiangensis is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to China where it is only known from Guangxi Province. It occurs in a tributary of the Zhujiang River. This species is the only known member of its genus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Species of Schizothorax in FishBase . May 2019 version.
  2. 1 2 Yang, J.; J.X. Yang; and X.Y. Chen (2012). A re-examination of the molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Schizothorax (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) through enhanced sampling, with emphasis on the species in the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, China. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 50(3). doi : 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2012.00661.x
  3. Coad, B.W.; and N.K.d. Ville (2004). On the systematics and distribution of the snow trout Schizothorax pelzami Kessler, 1870, in Iran (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae). Zoology in the Middle East 32(1): 57-62. doi : 10.1080/09397140.2004.10638044
  4. Hammer, U.T. (1986). Saline Lake Ecosystems of the World, p. 458. DR.W.Junk Publishers. ISBN   90-6193-535-0
  5. Coad, B.; and J. Hales (2008). Helmand - Sistan. Freshwater Ecoregions of the World. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  6. Qi, D.; Y. Chao; S. Guo; L. Zhao; T. Li; F. Wei; and X. Zhao (2012). Convergent, Parallel and Correlated Evolution of Trophic Morphologies in the Subfamily Schizothoracinae from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. PLoS ONE 7(3): e34070. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0034070
  7. De Graaf, M.; Megens, H.-J.; Samallo, J.; Sibbing, F.A. (2007). "Evolutionary origin of Lake Tana's (Ethiopia) small Barbus species: indications of rapid ecological divergence and speciation". Animal Biology . 57 (1): 39–48. doi:10.1163/157075607780002069.
  8. Arunkumar, L. & Alphonsa Moyon, W. (2016): Schizothorax chivae, a new schizothoracid fish from Chindwin basin, Manipur, India (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, 3 (2): 65-70.
  9. 1 2 Yang, J., Zheng, L.-P., Chen, X.-Y. & Yang, J.-X. (2013): Description of two new species and revision of Schizothorax distributed in the Irrawaddy drainage area in China. Zoological Research, 34 (4): 361-367.
  10. Javed, M.N., Azizullah & Pervaiz, K. (2012): Racoma ramzani, A New Snow Carp (Teleostei: Cyprinidae: Schizothoracinae) From Pakistan. Biologia (Pakistan), 58 (1-2): 175-178.