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Tachysurus qiongzhouensis Shao, Cai & Zhang 2026

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Relevant Information:

Description: A striped Tachysurus species. Distinguished from all other striped congeners except T. analimaculatus and T. sinovietnamensis by the following combination of characters: a deeply (vs. moderately) forked caudal fin, presence (vs. absence) of a prominent post-dorsal-fin notch on the dorso-lateral stripe and a constricted, irregular and tapering (vs. unconstricted and uniformly wide) mid-lateral stripe. It can be differentiated from T. analimaculatus in having a deeper body (depth at anus 19.1–24.5% vs. 13.8–19.2% HL). Tachysurus qiongzhouensis exhibits overall morphological similarity to T. sinovietnamensis but can be distinguished by the ratios of SL/HL to maxillary barbel length (71.28–89.23% vs. 45.23–56.34%) and SL/HL to nasal barbel length (34.21–36.21% vs. 67.21–78.21%). Habitat: Currently known from the Nandu and Changhua Rivers on Hainan Island and the Moyang River in Guangdong Province, South China. Inhabiting exclusively 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 epithet is derived from Qiongzhou, the historical designation for Hainan Island and the primary distributional range of this species. This species also inhabits the Moyang River in Guangdong Province, a region situated across the Qiongzhou Strait from Hainan Island. This epithet emphasizes the geographical affinity linking the populations of these two adjacent regions. The onomatopoeic Chinese sound of this species is “Qiong Zhou Ni Chang”.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Bagridae

Distribution:

Asia: Nandu and Changhua Rivers on Hainan Island and the Moyang River in Guangdong Province, South China.

Size:

9.0cm (3½ins)

Temp:

21-25°C (70-77°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

Not Evaluated.

Reference:

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.

Family: Bagridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Tachysurus qiongzhouensis
Freshly collected specimen

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