The Fish Site
During a survey of the freshwater fishes of the Mali Hka River drainage in the Hponkanrazi Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar, scientists Xiao-Yong Chen, Tao Qin and Zhi-Ying Chen, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), identified a new catfish species among the collected specimens.
It is distinct with a set of morphological features including its mouthparts and coloration. The discovery is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
The new catfish belongs to a genus (Oreoglanis) of 22 currently recognised species. They are characterised with unusual teeth. While pointed in the upper and the back of the lower jaw, the teeth at the front of the lower jaw are shorter and broad. The latter are placed in a continuous dent. Out of the 22 species of the genus, there are only two known to live in Myanmar.
The new catfish, scientifically named Oreoglanis hponkanensis has a moderately broad and strongly depressed head and body, and small eyes.