Family CYPRINIDAE: Subfamily SCHIZOTHORACINAE McClelland 1842 (Snow Barbels)

Revised 30 April 2024
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Aspiorhynchus Kessler 1879 Aspio, referring to the leuciscid genus Aspius, which also has a wedge-shaped head; rhynchus, from rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to wide and flat snout of A. przewalskii (=laticeps)

Aspiorhynchus laticeps (Day 1877) latus (L.), wide or broad; -ceps (Neo- Latin), headed,referring to the broad upper surface of its head, its width nearly twice its height

Percocypris Chu 1935 perco, from pérkē (Gr. πέρκη), perch, referring to head of P. pingi, which “strongly resembles that of a perch”; cypris, a common suffix for small cyprinoid genera, derived from Cyprinus (Common Carp)

Percocypris pingi (Tchang 1930) patronym not identified but probably in honor of zoologist Chih Ping (1886–1965), Director, Biological Laboratory of Nanking (now Nanjing)

Percocypris regani (Tchang 1935) in honor of English ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan (1878–1943), Natural History Museum (London), who studied the fishes of Yunnan, China

Percocypris retrodorsalis Cui & Chu 1990 retro– (L.), back; dorsalis (Neo-Latin), of the back, referring to dorsal-fin origin behind pectoral-fin origin

Percocypris tchangi (Pellegrin & Chevey 1936) in honor of Chinese ichthyologist Tchunlin (or Tchung-Lin) Tchang (1897–1963), who described the first two species of the genus

Schizopyge Heckel 1847 schízō (Gr. σχίζω), split or cleave; pygḗ (Gr. πυγή), rump, referring to membranous fold in front of anal fin, slightly separating scales on both sides of vent

Schizopyge curvifrons (Heckel 1838) curvus (L.), bent; frons (L.), face, brow or forehead, referring to its rounded or convex forehead [placed in Schizothorax by some workers]

Schizothorax Heckel 1838 schízō (Gr. σχίζω), split or cleave; thṓrax (Gr. θώραξ), breast or chest, referring to membranous fold in front of anal fin of S. esocinus, S. huegelii and S. niger, slightly separating scales on both sides of vent

Subgenus Schizothorax

Schizothorax argentatus Kessler 1874 Latin for plated with silver, referring to silvery-white color in young (dark olive in larger specimens, black in others)

Schizothorax beipanensis Yang, Chen & Yang 2009 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Beipan Jiang, Xuanwei County, Yunnan Province, China, type locality

Schizothorax biddulphi Günther 1876 in honor of Capt. John Biddulph (1840–1921), soldier, author and naturalist, who presented specimens (skins) to the British Museum (Natural History)

Schizothorax chivae Arunkumar & Alphonsa Moyon 2016 of the Chiva River, Manipur, India, type locality

Schizothorax chongi (Fang 1936) in honor of ornithologist L. T. Chong, Academia Sinica, who helped Fang collect specimens, including holotype of this one

Schizothorax curvilabiatus (Wu & Tsao 1992) curvus (L.), bent or curved; labiatus (L.), lipped, presumably referring to its lower lip, arched as in S. integrilabiatus, but with a split (i.e., bend) in the middle

Schizothorax cryptolepis Fu & Ye 1984 crypto-, from kryptόs (Gr. κρυπτός), cryptic or hidden; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to minute scales on side, embedded under skin

Schizothorax dainellii Vinciguerra 1916 in honor of Italian of geographer-geologist Giotto Dainelli (1878–1968), who “lovingly cared” (translation) for the preservation of central Asian fishes collected by and/or under the auspices of Filippo De Filippi (1814–1867), including holotype of this one [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax davidi (Sauvage 1880) in honor of Armand David (1826–1900), Lazarist missionary Catholic priest and biologist, who collected many specimens in China, including holotype of this one

Schizothorax dolichonema Herzenstein 1889 dolichós (Gr. δολιχός), long; nḗma (Gr. νῆμα), thread, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its rostral barbels, which more or less reach the eye, and maxillary barbels, which reach the preoperculum [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax dulongensis Huang 1985ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Dulong River basin, Yunnan Province, China, where it appears to be endemic

Schizothorax elongatus Huang 1985 Latin for prolonged, referring to its longer body length-to-depth ratio compared with S. molesworthi and S. dulongensis

Schizothorax edeniana McClelland 1842 ana (L.), belonging to: Eden, “named in honor of a Nobleman to whom Science is indebted for the opportunities afforded Mr. [William] Griffith [who collected holotype] of extending his Botanical Researches from the Straits of Malacca into Central Asia,” possibly George Eden (1784–18490, 1st Earl of Auckland, who served as Governor-General of India from 1836–1842 [originally spelled edeniana; emended to agree with masculine gender of genus]

Schizothorax esocinus Heckel 1838 scientific Neo-Latin for pike-like, referring to the shape of its head, similar to that of pikes (Esox, Esocidae)

Schizothorax eurystomus Kessler 1872 wide-mouthed, from eurýs (Gr. εὐρύς), wide or broad, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth; Kessler twice mentioned that the inferior mouth is wide but provided no quantitative or comparative data

Schizothorax fedtschenkoi Kessler 1872 in honor of Russian naturalist and explorer Alexei Pavlovich Fedtschenko (1844–1873), who collected holotype [treated as a junior synonym of S. intermedius by some workers]

Schizothorax gongshanensis Tsao 1964 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gongshan County, Yunnan Province, China, type locality [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax grahami (Regan 1904) in honor of British missionary John Graham (d. 1947), who collected many fishes in Yunnan, China, including holotype of this one

Schizothorax griseus Pellegrin 1931 Medieval Latin for gray, referring to brownish-gray coloration on back and grayish or yellowish sides and belly

Schizothorax gulinensis Ding, Dai & Huang 2022ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Gulin County, Sichuan Province, China, where type locality (a tributary of the Baisha River) is situated

Schizothorax heteri Yang, Zhen, Chen & Yang 2013 derived from héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), another (i.e., other) or disparate, presumably alluding to its vernacular in Yunna, China, “singular schizothorax” (translation), although what is “singular” about it is not explained nor apparent

Schizothorax heterochilus Ye & Fu 1986 héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), special or different; chilus, from cheī́los (Gr. χεῖλος), lip, referring to its thick lower lip, divided into three lobes (compared with two lobes on S. lissolabiatus), with an evident middle lobe (compared with covered middle lobe of S. davidi)

Schizothorax heterophysallidos Yang, Chen & Yang 2009 heteros (Gr. ἕτερος), special or different; physallidos (Gr. φυσαλλίδος), genitive of physallís (φυσαλλίς), bladder, referring to air bladder (with an elongated posterior chamber, unique amongst members of the S. griseus complex)

Schizothorax huegelii Heckel 1838 in honor of Karl (also known as Charles) von Hügel (1795–1870), Austrian army officer, diplomat, botanist and explorer, who collected holotype

Schizothorax integrilabiatus (Wu et al. 1992) integer (L.), whole or entire; labiatus (L.), lipped, allusion not explained, presumably referring to fullness of lower lip, compared to split lower lip of S. curvilabiatus [note: authorship given as “Wu et al.” with no explanation of who the other authors might be]

Schizothorax intermedius McClelland & Griffith 1842 Latin for intermediate, allusion not explained, presumably intermediate in form among five nominal Schizothorax species discussed by McClelland, but comparison of characters does not support this interpretation

Schizothorax intermedius talassi Turdakov 1955 of Talas River, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where it is endemic

Schizothorax kozlovi Nikolskii 1903 in honor of explorer Pyotr K. Kozlov (1863–1935), Imperial Russian Geographical Society, whose 1899–1901 expedition to Mongolia and Tibet yielded a rich natural history collection, including holotype of this species

Schizothorax kumaonensis Menon 1971ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Kumaon Himalayas, India, only known area of occurrence

Schizothorax labrosus Wang, Zhuang & Gao 1981 Latin for large-lipped, probably referring to its “fleshy” lips

Schizothorax lantsangensis Tsao 1964 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lantsang River, Yunnan Province, China, type locality

Schizothorax lepidothorax Yang 1991 lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale; thṓrax (Gr. θώραξ), breast or chest, referring to minute scales on thorax and abdomen

Schizothorax leukus Yang, Zhen, Chen & Yang 2013 leukós (Gr. λευκός), white, apparently alluding to its vernacular in Yunnan China, “white body schizothorax” (translation); since body color is described as dark brown, name may refer to silvery-white abdomen (characteristic of genus) instead

Schizothorax lissolabiatus (Tsao 1964) lissós (Gr. λισσός), smooth; labiatus (L.), lipped, referring to its smooth lower lip, compared with rough or bumpy lower lip of congeners [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax longibarbus (Fang 1936) longus (L.), long; barbus (L.), beard, referring to its long barbels, longer than those of S. grahami

Schizothorax macrophthalmus Terashima 1984 big-eyed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and ophthalmós (Gr. ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to its large eye diameter, 5.8% of standard length

Schizothorax macropogon Regan 1905 macro-, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large; pṓgōn (Gr. πώγων), beard, referring to its long barbels, half as long as head or more

Schizothorax malacathus Huang 1985 malaco-, from malakós (Gr. μαλακός), soft; acanthus (L.), from ákantha (Gr. ἄκανθα), thorn, referring to its “weak, smooth” dorsal-fin spine [malacathus is a misspelling of malacanthus but must be retained]

Schizothorax meridionalis Tsao 1964 Latin for southern, proposed as a southern subspecies of S. molesworthi

Schizothorax microcephalus Day 1877 small-headed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός),small, and kephalḗ (Gr. κεφαλή), head, referring to its smaller head compared with several congeners, 5–5½ times in total length

Schizothorax microstomus Hwang 1982 small-mouthed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός),small, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its smaller mouth compared with S. labrosus and S. ninglangensis

Schizothorax molesworthi (Chaudhuri 1913) in honor of Capt. Alec Lindsay Mortimer Molesworth (1904–1937), of the 8th Gurkha Rifles (British Army regiment in Nepal), a naturalist and collector who presumably collected and/or presented holotype

Schizothorax myzostomus Tsao 1964 sucker-mouthed, from mýzō (Gr. μύζω), to suck, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its sucker-shaped lower lip

Schizothorax nasus Heckel 1838 Latin for nose, referring to its snout projecting beyond axis of body

Schizothorax nepalensis Terashima 1984ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Nepal, where it is endemic to Lake Rara

Schizothorax niger Heckel 1838 Latin for black or dark, referring to its dark-black color in spirits and/or dark spots on body [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax ninglangensis Wang, Zhang & Zhuang 1981ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Ninglang County, Yunnan Province, China, where type locality (Lake Lugu) is situated

Schizothorax nudiventris Yang, Chen & Yang 2009 nudus (L.), bare or naked; ventris, genitive of venter (L.), belly or abdomen, referring to scaleless thorax and abdomen anterior to pelvic-fin origin

Schizothorax nukiangensis (Tsao 1964)ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: upper and lower reaches of Nukiang (also spelled Nujiang) River, Yunnan Province, China, type locality [placed in Schizopyge by some workers]

Schizothorax oconnori Lloyd 1908 patronym not identified, probably in honor of Capt. William Frederick Travers O’Connor (1870–1953), soldier, interpreter, commercial attaché, writer, and part of the 1904 British expedition to (and de facto invasion of) Tibet, during which holotype was collected

Schizothorax oligolepis Huang 1985 olígos (ὀλίγος), few or scanty; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to fewer lateral lines scales (89-93) compared to S. molesworthi (94–99)

Schizothorax paoshanensis Tsao 1964 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Paoshan (also spelled Baoshan) County, Yunnan Province, type locality [treated as a subspecies of S. yunnanensis by some workers]

Schizothorax parvus Tsao 1964 Latin for little, referring to its small size (70–185 mm TL) compared with most congeners

Schizothorax pelzami Kessler 1870 in honor of Emmanuel Danilovich (or Evgeniy Dmitrievich) Pelzam (1837–ca.1886), an assistant at Kazan University Museum, Russia, who collected holotype

Schizothorax plagiostomus Heckel 1838 oblique-mouthed, from plágios (Gr. πλάγιος), sideways or oblique, and stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its transverse mouth

Schizothorax prenanti (Tchang 1930) patronym not identified, possibly in honor of French embryologist Auguste Prenant (1861–1927) or his son, parasitologist Marcel Prenant (1893–1983)

Schizothorax progastus (McClelland 1839) pro– (L.), before, forward or in front of; gastḗr (Gr. γαστήρ), belly or stomach, allusion not explained, perhaps referring in some way to how “abdomen is abruptly enlarged beneath the pectorals” and/or how “stomach is of considerable size”

Schizothorax pseudoaksaiensis Herzenstein 1889 pseudo-, from pseúdēs (Gr. ψεύδης), false, although this species resembles (and was previously reported as) S. aksaiensis (=intermedius), such an appearance is false

Schizothorax pseudoaksaiensis issykkuli Berg 1907 of Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, type locality

Schizothorax pseudoaksaiensis tschuensis Pivnev 1985ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chu River, Kyrgyzstan, type locality [species name misspelled pseudaksaiensis by Pivnev, missing the “o”]

Schizothorax puncticulatus Zhang, Zhao & Niu 2019 Latin for dotted, referring to blue-gray or blackish dots all over the sides

Schizothorax raraensis Terashima 1984 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Lake Rara, northwestern Nepal, where it is endemic

Schizothorax richardsonii (Gray 1832) patronym not identified, probably in honor of Scottish surgeon-naturalist John Richardson (1787–1865), whom Gray had elsewhere called the leading authority on fishes in Britain

Schizothorax rotundimaxillaris Wu & Wu 1992 rotundus (L.), round or circular; maxillaris (L.), of or belonging to the jaw, referring to its curved lower jaw

Schizothorax saltans Turdakov 1955 Latin for jumping or leaping but in this case possibly a misspelling of salsus (L.), salted, salty or salt, referring to high end-of-summer salinity of Ashchi-Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, where it occurred [extinct; last recorded in 1953]

Schizothorax sikusirumensis Jha 2020 UNAVAILABLE; ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION WITHOUT ZOOBANK REGISTRATIONensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sikusirum River, Siang River basin, Arunachal Pradesh, India, type locality

Schizothorax sinensis Herzenstein 1889 ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), where it is endemic

Schizothorax skarduensis Mirza & Awan 1978ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Skardu, Baltistan District, Pakistan, type locality

Schizothorax taliensis Regan 1907ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Tali Fu Lake, China, type locality

Schizothorax waltoni Regan 1905 in honor of Capt. Herbert James Walton (1869-1938), surgeon and naturalist, who collected holotype during a 1904 British expedition to (and de facto invasion of) Tibet

Schizothorax wangchiachii (Fang 1936) in honor of Wang Chia-chi (1897–1976), director, National Research Institute of Biology, Academia Sinica, for allowing Fang to “stay a rather longer period in the European museums and institutes for carrying on his ichthyological work”

Schizothorax yunnanensis Norman 1923ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Yunnan Province, China, where type locality (Tengyueh [now Tengchong], Irrawaddy drainage] is situated

Schizothorax yunnanensis weiningensis Chen 1998ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Weining County, Guizhou Province, China, where type locality (Caohai Lake) is situated

Schizothorax zarudnyi (Nikolskii 1897) in honor of Nikolai Zarudny (1859–1919), Ukrainian-Russian explorer and ornithologist, who collected holotype

Subgenus Schizothorax Racoma McClelland & Griffith 1842 Latinization of Rakoma, presumably a word of Indian origin, meaning “torn garment,” allusion not explained, perhaps referring to labial fold on protractile lower jaw, as described for Racoma brevis (an indeterminate species, possibly S. intermedius or Schizopyge curvifrons): “lips covered with a thick fleshy membrane, which forms a loose appendage to the lower jaw”

Schizothorax labiatus (McClelland 1842) Latin for lipped, probably referring to the “enlargement of the lips”

Schizothorax ramzani (Javed, Azizullah & Pervaiz 2012) in honor of the “very eminent” Pakistani ichthyologist Muhammad Ramzan Mirza (b. 1936)