Subterranean Fishes of the World

3338

2016

127-151

Science Press

Beijing

This book contains our taxonomic validations and catalogue of the inland fish of China. We used several sources of data，including fish collecting information from historical literature (1758–2014)，specimens from the major fish collections of China and our field surveys carried out over the past 30 years. Our general review included:（1）A taxonomic and systematics research history，divided into five stages: ①initial studies by foreign scholars (1758-1927)；②early studies by Chinese scientists (1927-1937)；③effects of the Anti-Japanese War and Civil War (1937-1949)；④recovery stage (1949-1980)；⑤period of rapid development (1980). There were representative studies and innovations in all of these periods. This section also indicates the characteristics of each period on the basis of literature analysis.（2）An analysis of species richness. In June 2014 there was a total of 1384 valid species and subspecies, including over 21 introduced species，belonging to 54 families and 18 orders. These figures included 1362 native inland species and subspecies belonging to 303 genera，47 families and 17 orders；and among these were almost 900 endemic species，belonging to over 180 genera，21 families and 7 orders，accounting for about 65% of the total number of inland fishes. About 250 species were threatened based on a series of evaluations such as the China Red Data Book，China Species Red List and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These threatened species belong to over 100 genera，28 families and 10 orders，and account for about 18% of total inland fishes. In addition，we also analyzed species compositions at different taxonomic levels. A total of over 1000 species (including subspecies)were in Cypriniformes，accounting for about 75% of the total，followed by Siluriformes and Perciformes. At family level，Cyprinidae was the most abundant with 660 species (including subspecies)， totalling about 49%. At the genus level，about 100 Triplophysa species were found，accounting for over 7%. Three families—Cranoglanididae，Polyodontidae and Amblycipitidae—had the highest level of endemism. Acipenseriformes was the most endangered. (3)GIS-based analysis of patterns of species diversity showed high species diversity south of the Qinling Mountains–Huaihe River，east of the Hengduanshan Mountain Regions. Four regions: the Sichuan Basin，the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and their adjacent waters，the Pearl River，and Hainan Island had the greatest species diversity. The regions，including the intersection of the upper Yangtze River (including the Jinshajiang River and Yalongjiang River)，Dongting Lake and the nearby section of the river，and Hongshuihe tributaries (Nanpanjiang，Hongshuihe and Liujiang)of the Xijiang River Basin had the greatest endemism. The upper stream of the Yellow River；the Yangtze River，the Lancangjiang River，the Nujiang River and the Pearl River，The Tarim River，The Yarlung Zangbo River River (upper Brahmaputra River)，and Taiwan Island showed a high percentage of endemic species. The areas with the highest level of endangered species were the upper Yangtze River and Hongshuihe tributaries. There was a high proportion of endangered species in the upper reaches of the Yellow River，the Yangtze River，the Lancangjiang River，the Nujiang River and the Pearl River， Irtysh River，the Tarim River，the Yarlung Zangbo River，downstream of the Heilongjiang River，and east of Taiwan. The pattern of endemic species is basically consistent with that of species richness. A place with more endemic species often has a high level of species richness. (4)The relationship between the distribution patterns of species diversity and environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation，and (especially)human population density；the latter represents some of the environmental pressures coming from people. (5)Identification of hotspots on the basis of distribution patterns of species richness，endemic and endangered fishes. The overlap of hotspots suggested four main regions: the Minjiang River；the intersection of the Minjiang River and the Yangtze River；the junction of the Jialingjiang River and the Yangtze River and the section between the Yichang and Dongting Lake on the middle Yangtze River；and the Hongshuihe River tributaries (Nanpanjiang River，Hongshuihe River，Liujiang River and Xunjiang River)of the Xijiang River Basin. (6)Analysis of the status of 338 nature reserves with rare and endangered fish. The status of nature reserves varies between east and west China；there is a certain amount of poor planning，the quality of some aquatic wildlife nature reserves needs to be enhanced and there are still insufficient nature reserves. The aquatic wildlife nature reserves of inland fishes have covered the hotspots except Hainan Island. However，there are already two forest ecosystem nature reserves in Hainan，so some protective measures are in place. The aquatic wildlife nature reserves have not yet taken into account relatively specific and endangered status of the region further upstream. This includes the upper streams of the Yellow River，the Lancangjiang River and the Nujiang River；the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River；relatively specific status of the region including the upper stream of the Tarim River；and the relatively endangered status of the region further upstream including Irtysh River and middle and south Taiwan. However，these regions have established national or provincial nature reserves including forest ecological，wildlife or inland wetland nature reserves. It has been suggested that priority areas for nature conservation should be planned in the appropriate sections of the upper streams of the Jinshajiang and Yarlung Zangbo River，as well as in the middle reaches of the Tarim River. The catalogue (species list)has two parts，one for all native inland fish and one for introduced species. Each entry contains the scientific (Latin) name，authorities，year，Chinese name，synonyms，local names and distribution.

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