Description:Liobagrus styani is redescribed
and its identity clarified. The real L. styani
is represented by the population found in the Po-He,
a tributary of the lake Huanggai system in the middle
Chang-Jiang basin, at Chibi City, South Hubei Province,
China. The materials currently identified as L.
styani from Henan, Shaanxi, Anhui and Jiangxi
provinces possibly represent an undescribed species.
Taxonomic and nomenclatural comments are provided
for Chinese species of Liobagrus with a smooth
posterior edge of the pectoral-fin spine. Etymology:
In honour of Frederic William Styan (1838– 1934),
tea trader and natural history collector in China,
who “presented” holotype.
Common
Name:
None
Synonyms:
None
Family:
Amblycipitidae
Distribution:
East
Asia:
Middle and lower Changjiang [= Yangtze River]. Type
locality: Known only from the headwaters
of the Po-He, a tributary flowing into Huanggai Lake
in the middle Chang-Jiang basin, at Chibi City, South
Hubei Province, China.
Size:
10.5cm (4¼ins)
Temp:
18-22°C
(63-71°F)
p.H.
6.5-7.5.
IUCN
Red List
This
species is known only from the upper Po He region flowing
into Huanggai Hu, on the border of Hubei and Hunan Provinces,
China. Previously common and more widespread in Po He,
it now has a restricted population with an extent of
occurrence (EOO) of at most 50 km2. Numerous weirs and
other small water facilities have been constructed around
the lake leading to a continuing decline in habitat
extent and quality. As a clear-water species it is sensitive
to pollution from sedimentation and nutrient loads,
and there is a continuing decline in the population
size resulting from pollution from various sources.
There is a single location based on these threats. Therefore,
it is assessed as Critically
Endangered (IUCN 2023).
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