New Eocene jianghanichthyid (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) from the Huachong Formation with description of its cephalic sensory canals

2026/01/01 by Juan Liu, Jiangyong Zhang · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Fish Biology and Ecology Studies #Fish biology, ecology, and behavior #Ichthyology and Marine Biology

paper · doi:10.1139/cjz-2025-0098

openalex publication_date 2026/01/01 · openalex created_date 2026/07/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25

Abstract

We describe a new jianghanichthyid species, Jianghanichthys huachongensis sp. nov., from the middle–late Eocene Huachong (also known as Huayong) Formation in the Sanshui Basin, Guangdong, China. This species differs from the previously described Jianghanichthys hub eiensis (Lei, 1977) and Jianghanichthys sanshuiensis (Li et Wang, 1979) in opercular morphology, the pattern of sensory canals in the opercular region, as well as in meristic and morphometric characteristics. Although specimens of J. huachongensis sp. nov. are typically preserved as partially disarticulated and fragile slabs because of the shallow lacustrine or swamp-like paleoenvironment, J. huachongensis sp. nov. exhibits exceptional preservation of the delicate cephalic sensory canal system. This preservation provides new diagnostic features for the family and sheds light on sensory system diversity in early-derived clades of Cypriniformes.

Citations

• A Comparative Study of the Cephalic Lateral-Line System of North American Cyprinidae
• Cephalic Lateral-Line Systems of the Cyprinid Genus Hybopsis
• Amyzon gosiutensis, a New Catostomid Fish from the Green River Formation
• A new catostomid fish (Ostariophysi, Cypriniformes) from the Eocene Kishenehn Formation and remarks on the North American species of †AmyzonCope, 1872
• Osteology of the South Asian Genus Psilorhynchus McClelland, 1839 (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Psilorhynchidae), with investigation of its phylogenetic relationships within the order Cypriniformes

Discussions

• Happy #FossilFriday! 🐟New fish species described from Professor Juan Liu and Jiang-Yong Zhang! In their paper published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology, they describe Jianghanichthys huachongens [bsky, 9 points, 0 comments]

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