Vasil’eva E.D., Vasil’ev V.P., Nemkova G.A., Shedko S.V.
В журнале Journal of Ichthyology
Год: 2022 Том: 62 Номер: 1 Страницы: 1-15
The three differentiated phylogenetic lineages of sharpbelly from the group Hemiculter leucisculus s.l. corresponding to clades A, B, C sensu Chen et al. (2017) have been confirmed by the analysis of phylogenetic relationships based on the variability of the cytochrome b gene. The lineage corresponding to clade C unites individuals distrubuted from the Amur River basin to the water bodies of southern Vietnam, including the type habitat of H. leucisculus s. str. Comparative morphological studies of voucher specimens and materials from the collection of the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, accompanied by a review of the available literature data, allow to conclude that sharpbelly from the basin of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, forming clade B, belongs to H. nigromarginis. This species differs from H. leucisculus by the greater number of gill rakers, 25–28 versus 13–20. The phylogenetic lineage combining specimens from the Pearl River basin and clade A is considered a new species, which is described in the present study. It is similar to the allopatric H. leucisculus by many morphological characteristics, but differs by shorter pectoral fins, displaced base of the pelvic fins towards caudal fin, a short flesh slip at the pectoral fin base, and a longer second unbranched ray of the dorsal fin. Considering the phylogenetic relationships of species of the genus Hemiculter and species of closely related genera of the subfamily Xenocypridinae, we encourage providing morphological descriptions of voucher specimens in the publications of molecular genetic analysis of fish groups, where the problems in identifying taxa are stated, thus confirming the correctness of their identification.
