Protomyzon

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Protomyzon
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Gastromyzontidae
Genus: Protomyzon
Hora, 1932
Type species
Homaloptera whiteheadi
Vaillant 1894
Synonyms

ProgastromyzonHora & Jayaram, 1952

Protomyzon is a genus of gastromyzontid loaches endemic to Borneo.

A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, as well as viruses, in biology. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.

Endemism Ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

Borneo island

Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.

Contents

Species

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

In biology, a species ( ) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.

Dr Sunder Lal Hora FRSE FLS was an Indian ichthyologist and was known for his biogeographical theory on the affinities of Western Ghats and Indo-Malayan forms. He was the second Indian director of the Zoological Survey of India, succeeding Baini Prashad.

See also

Yaoshania pachychilus, the panda loach, is a species of gastromyzontid loach endemic to mountain streams in Jinxiu County, Guangxi in China. This species grows to a length of 5.8 centimetres (2.3 in) SL. This species is monotypic, but it was formerly included in Protomyzon. Juveniles are strikingly coloured in black-and-white, but adults are relatively plain.

Related Research Articles

Cobitidae family of fishes

Cobitidae, also known as the True loaches, is a family of Old World freshwater fish. They occur throughout Eurasia and in Morocco, and inhabit riverine ecosystems. Today, most "loaches" are placed in other families. The family includes about 260 described species. New species are being described regularly.

Hillstream loach family of fishes

The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from South, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 99 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or "flossensaugers". Many of the species are popular for aquaria, species in the genus Sewellia are most commonly sold in the aquaria trade. They have a number of similarities with the Cobitidae, their sibling family of "loaches", such as multiple barbels around the mouth. They should not be confused with the loricariids, which look similar but are a family of catfish.

<i>Lepidocephalichthys</i> genus of fishes

Lepidocephalichthys is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Cobitidae family.

<i>Nemacheilus</i> genus of fishes

Nemacheilus is a genus of stone loaches native to Asia.

<i>Schistura</i> genus of stone loaches

Schistura is a genus of fish in the stone loach family Nemacheilidae native to the streams and rivers of the southern and eastern Asia. Some of these species are troglobitic.

Schistura horai is a species of ray-finned fish in the stone loach genus Schistura. It is found in India and Pakistan. It is named in honour of the ichthyologist Sunder Lal Hora (1896-1955), who was the Director of the Zoological Survey of India and who collected the type specimen in 1926 in Himachal Pradesh.

Schistura prashadi is a species of ray-finned fish, a stone loach, in the genus Schistura. Some authorities place it in the genus Physoschistura It is known from just three localities in the Chindwin River drainage in Manipur, India. It is a benthic species of hill streams, preferring well oxygenated, clear, flowing water. The specific name honours Baini Prashad (1894-1969) who was an Assistant Superintendent at the Zoological Survey of India, who gave "every possible encouragement” to the describer of this species, Sunder Lal Hora.

Loach

Loaches are fishes of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fishes found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fishes; the 1249 known species of Cobitoidea comprise about 107 genera divided among 9 families.

Aborichthys is a genus of stone loaches found in streams of India with one species also found in Myanmar.

Annamia is a small genus of gastromyzontid loaches native to Southeast Asia. There are two species, though one of them is of doubtful validity and identity:

<i>Neonoemacheilus</i> genus of fishes

Neonoemacheilus is a genus of Asian stone loaches.

Paraschistura is a genus of stone loaches most of which occur in Central, South and Western Asia.

Physoschistura is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found mostly in Southeast Asia.

Travancoria is a small genus of hillstream loaches endemic to India.

The Nemacheilidae, or stone loaches, are a family of cypriniform fishes that inhabit stream environments, mostly in Eurasia, with one genus, Afronemacheilus found in Africa. The family includes about 630 species.

<i>Balitoropsis</i> genus of fishes

Balitoropsis also known as the lizard loaches is a genus of hillstream loaches native to eastern Asia.

Gastromyzontidae family of fishes

The Gastromyzontidae are a family of loaches native to China and Southeast Asia, where typically found in streams and rivers with a fast current. The family includes about 137 species in eighteen genera. This family was resurrected by M. Kottelat in his review and revision of the loaches in 2012.

Homalopteroides is a genus of hillstream loaches native to Southeast Asia.

Indotriplophysa is a subgenus of the stone loach genus Triplophysa native to central Asia. It is regarded by some authorities as a valid genus in its own right.

<i>Pseudohomaloptera</i> genus of fishes

Pseudohomaloptera is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Balitoridae.

References

  1. Kottelat, M. (2012): Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 26: 1-199.