Synonyms:

Glyptosternon quadriocellatum Mai, 1978

original description

Glyptosternon minutum Mai, 1978

homonym, preoccupied name

Glyptothorax obscura Li, 1984

junior synonym

Glyptothorax spectrum Kottelat, 2001

replacement name, junior synonym

Vernacular names:

四斑纹缈摟

Mandarin Chinese

Etymology:

The generic name ‘glyptothorax’ is a compound of the Greek word; ‘glyptes’: carver, and the Latin word ‘thorax’: breast plate; an allusion to the adhesive thoracic apparatus, which looks like a carved plate; gender: masculine.

The specific epithet ‘quadriocellatus’: with four ocella refers to the coloration; an adjective, which has to agree in gender with generic name.

Size / Weight:

40 mm SL, northern Vietnam (Kottelat, 2001).

31 mm SL, northern Vietnam (Mai, 1978).

38-115 mm SL, 19 ex., Dongbao Town, Jinping town, Lvchun town, Jingdong County, Red River basin, Yunnan Province, China (Chu & Mo in Chu, Zheng, Dai et al., 1999).

40.4-49.6 mm SL, 49.6-63.7 mm TL, 3 ex., EPC 0623-0625, Mengyejiang, Red River basin, Yunnan Province, China (ME, 2010-05-07).

Diagnosis:

D I,5; A I,7-10; P I,7-8; V I,5.

Body depth/SL 19.0 %; head length/SL 28.8 %; eye diameter/head length 5.7 %; interorbital distance/head length 34.0 %.

Body naked. Head depressed. Body laterally compressed. Head moderately small. Snout long. Four pairs of barbels. Nasal barbel not reaching eye. Maxillary barbel reaching to pectoral fin base. Two pairs of moderately long mandibular barbels. Mouth subterminal. Upper jaw longer than lower one, covered by sharp tiny incisive teeth. Nostril near snout, far from eye. Gill opening wide. Dorsal fin closer to snout than to caudal fin base. Dorsal spine not serrated. Pectoral fin not reaching pelvic fin. Pectoral spine serrated on posterior edge. Pelvic fin reaching anal fin. Adipose fin opposite anal fin. Caudal fin deeply forked, lobes equal. Anus in middle of distance between pelvic and anal fins. Lateral line conspicuous.

Coloration: Body brown with orange-whitish spots in front of and behind adipose fin, in front of dorsal fin, behind the eyes, in front of and behind anal fin. Caudal fin with two orange-whitish bars, one on middle, one along margin (Mai, 1978, translated in Kottelat, 2001, modified).

Sex differentiation:

No sexual dichromatism nor dimorphism.

Sharp, shortly protruding genital papilla in males (EPC 0624, 50.8 mm SL); versus small, small pit in females (EPC 0623, 40.4 mm SL; EPC 0625, 52.6 mm SL) [ME, 2010-05-10]. 

Distribution:

In the riffle section of EW-CN 66-09, Mengyejiang River 勐野江, tributary to Lixianjiang River李仙江, Red River 红河 basin, Yunnan Province, China (ME, 2009-12-30, 2010-01-06).

Red River basin in Yunnan Province, China and northern Vietnam; in riffles among smooth surfaced rocks and boulders featuring clear, well oxygenated water with swift current.

Ecology:

Singly, hiding among and beneath rocks, browsing rapidly among the rock formations slightly above substratum permanently foraging.

Carnivorous with a tendency to insectivorousity (ME, 2010-05-07).

In the riffle section of EW-CN 66-09 (Mengyejiang River 勐野江, tributary to Lixianjiang River李仙江, Red River 红河 basin, Yunnan Province, China) syntop with Pseudecheneis paviei, Glyptothorax interspinalum, Schistura callichromus, Schistura laterivittata, Sinogastromyzon tonkinensis. For details of the biotope see S. callichromus (ME, 2009-12-30, 2010-01-06).

Occurrence in Bazehe River at the end of November; stream 10-20 m broad, 0.3 -1.2 m deep, 25.2 ºC, 7.78 pH, 870 µS/cm, well oxygenated water, syntop with benthic species, viz. Pseudobagrus kyphus, Microphysogobio yunnanensis, Silurus asotus, Glyptothorax honghensis, Rhinogobius brunneus, Rhinogobius giurinus, Monopterus albus; Bazehe River, a left tributary of Nanxihe, Red River basin, close to border with Vietnam, Yunnan Province, China (Yang, Chen & Yang, 2008).

Conservation status:

IUCN Red List not evaluated.

Aquarium maintenance:

Well aerated river setup with plenty of hiding spaces, bottom should be covered with big pebbles and rocks with smooth surface; vast sandy areas to be avoided.

Overwintering at temperatures down to 16 ˚C are optimal; summer temperatures may range at 26 ˚C.

Easy feeder with life food or frozen red moskito larvae, Artemia; attractive and easy to keep.

Remarks:

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