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Weihan Shao (1)

Description: A striped Tachysurus species. Distinguished from all other striped congeners except T. pseudovirgatus, T. virgatus, T. trimaculatus and T. furcatus by the following combination of characters: a deeply (vs. moderately) forked caudal fin, a straight (vs. gently convex) posterior edges of the caudal-fin lobes, presence (vs. absence) of a prominent post-dorsal-fin notch on the dorso-lateral stripe, and a uniform and unconstricted (vs. tapering, constricted and irregular) mid-lateral stripe. It can be differentiated from T. trimaculatus, T. pseudovirgatus, T. virgatus and T. furcatus by a shallower head (depth 53.4–59.1% HL vs. 58.6–71.1% HL) and narrower head (width 59.8–68.5% HL vs. 66.4–76.7% HL), and from T. pseudovirgatus, T. virgatus and T. furcatus by the presence (vs. absence) of a connection between the dorso-lateral stripe and black blotches on the operculum Habitat: Currently known from the Fangcheng River and Jiangping River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, which are two coastal rivers flowing into the Beibu Gulf basin (Figure 1). Juveniles mainly occur in streams, while adults are restricted to the main channels of rivers. Etymology: The genus name of Tachysurus: tachys, swift; oura, tail, referring to the presumed agility of T. sinensis based on its “long and nimble” tail (translation). The specific name bailongensis refers to “Bailongwei”, the locality in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China, where the new species was collected. The name commemorates the historical site of the Bailong Fort, which was constructed by the Qing Dynasty in the late 19th century to defend the Chinese–Vietnamese border against incursions by French colonial forces in Vietnam.

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Bagridae

Asia: Fangcheng River and Jiangping River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.

7.0cm (2¾ins)

21-25°C (70-77°F)

6.0-7.0.

Fish in the News 2026.
Shao, W., Cai, X., Nguyen, T. D., & Zhang, E. (2026). Beyond Morphological Conservatism: Integrative Taxonomy Unveils Remarkable Cryptic Diversity in the Tachysurus virgatus (Oshima 1926) Group (Siluriformes: Bagridae) Endemic to the Northern Margin of East Asian Tropics. Animals, 16(15), 2422.