Threatened fishes of the world: Tanichthys albonubes Lin 1932 (Cyprinidae)

The white cloud mountain minnow Tanichthys albonubes Lin is an endemic species to southern China and the genus has two species, Tanichthys albonubes Lin and Tanichthys micagemmae Freyhof et Herder. The distribution range of T. albonubes Lin and T. micagemmae is very narrow and only found in the mountain brooks of Baiyunshan Mountain (White Cloud Mountain), Huaxian Country and the vicinity of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province and Halong, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam respectively. The wild populations of this fish had already been on the verge of extinction when Shu-Yan Lin first discovered it in 1932 at the Baiyunshan Mountain. It was believed to be extinct in the wild because there were no reports of this fish in the wild since 1980. In September 2003, a small and isolated population of the fish was discovered in a mountain puddle in the north vicinity of Guangzhou. Additional studies are needed to determine the survival and propagation of the released fish. The protection of their natural habitat should be implemented.

Morphology and infraciliature of three species of Metaurostylopsis (Ciliophora, Stichotrichia): M. songi n. sp., M. salina n. sp., and M. marina (Kahl 1932) from sediments, saline ponds, and coastal waters.

Two new urostylid ciliates, Metaurostylopsis songi n. sp. and Metaurostylopsis salina n. sp. and Metaurostylopsis marina (Kahl 1932) are investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation. These species were isolated in Korea from intertidal sediments, saline ponds, and coastal waters. Metaurostylopsis songi is in vivo about 120 pm x 25 mu m, has a slenderly ellipsoidal body, colorless cortical granules in rows on ventral and dorsal body sides, about 54 macronuclear nodules, 28-47 adoral membranelles, five frontal, two or three frontoterminal and six or seven transverse cirri, and 9-12 midventral cirral pairs followed posteriorly by 1-3 single cirri. In vivo M. salina is about 60 pin x 25 mu m, has a pyriform body, colorless cortical granules irregularly arranged, about 45 macronuclear nodules, 18-23 adoral membranelles, three frontal, three to five frontoterminal and two to five transverse cirri, and four or five midventral cirral pairs followed posteriorly by five to seven single cirri. Both species have three marginal cirral rows on each body side and 3 long dorsal kineties. The Korean specimens of M. marina match the Chinese population in all main features. Metaurostylopsis songi differs from M. marina by the more slender body, the number of frontal cirri (invariably five vs. four), and the arrangement of cortical granules (in rows on dorsal and ventral cortex vs. only along dorsal kinetics and anterior body margin). Metaurostylopsis salina differs from its congeners by the distinctly smaller size, the pyriform body shape, the scattered cortical granules (vs. in rows), and number of frontal cirri. It differs from M. marina also by the number of midventral cirral pairs (four or five vs. seven to 11).