Synonyms:

Schistura macrocephalus Kottelat, 2000

original description

Vernacular names:

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Etymology:

The generic name ‘schistura’ is a compound of two Greek words; ‘skhizeîn’: to split, ‘oura’: tail; an allusion to a forked caudal fin; gender: feminine.

Specific epithet ‘macrocephalus’ is a latinized compound of the Greek words ‘makros’ for big, large, and ‘kephale’ for head, meaning ‘with a large head’; a noun in apposition.

Size / Weight:

83.2 mm SL, EPC 0696, EW-CN 83-10, Nanxinghe River, Mekong basin, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China (largest specimen collected, ME, 2010-06-03).

Up to 84 mm SL, type series, Louangnamtha Province, Laos, and Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, China (Kottelat, 2000).

Diagnosis:

Head massive, lateral length 3.4-3.8 times in SL; dorsal keel on caudal peduncle; lateral line complete; ancillary pelvic lobe reduced or missing.

Coloration. Body with 6-9 brown bars, wider than or as wide as interspaces, wider anteriorly than posteriorly; along lateral line, a series of faint blackish blotches more or less corresponding and superimposed to bars; black caudal bar either almost complete or, often, dissociated into two blotches, a slightly oblique one along base of upper rays and a vertical and somewhat longer one on lower two-thirds of fin base (Kottelat, 2000).

Sex differentiation:

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Distribution:

In Nanxinghe River 南醒河, a tributary of Luosuojiang River, Mekong basin,

Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China (ME, 2010-06-03).

Nam Youan River, Mekong basin, northern Laos (Kottelat, 2000).

Ecology:

Alike all Schistura in loose groups, permanently foraging.

Omnivorous with a tendency towards insectivorous.

Occurring in Nanxinghe River, EW-CN 83-10, a eutrophied stream, 40 m broad, 1 m deep, some potholes with 2 m depth, slow - moderate current, few riparian primary rain forest remaining, vast plantations with rubber trees, surrounding hills with primary forest not bordering river, few riffles with fast current; no vascular submerse plants visible; bottom: rocks, boulders, pebbles, mud up to 20 cm deep; conditions referring to high water levels at rainy season.

Sintopic with the nemacheilids Schistura porthos Kottelat, 2000, Schistura sp. N26 and Physoschistura meridionalis (Zhu, 1982). EW-CN 83-10 is a rather speciose biotope; 23 distinct species of fish have been identified at the moment.

Water: Highly turbid, mud colored; water parameters: 30 ºC in 20 cm depth, 8.1 pH, 290 µS/cm; sunny weather (ME, 2010-06-01, 15:00).

Conservation status:

IUCN Red List not evaluated.

Aquarium maintenance:

no reports available.  

Remarks:

The occurence in Nanxinghe River (EW-CN 83-10) seems to be the northernmost rim of the distributional range of Schistura macrocephalus.