Claea dafangensis (Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae), a new cave-dwelling fish from the upper Wujiang River, Guizhou Province, China

A new species of the genus Claea, Claea dafangensis sp. nov., is described from Yuchong Township, Dafang County, Guizhou Province, China. This species can be distinguished from its four congeners by a combination of the following characteristics: body pigmentation present; normal eyes with a diameter of 10.9–21.0 % of head length (HL); processus dentiformis prominent, covering the lower jaw when the mouth is shut; 8–9 branched pectoral-fin rays; 16 branched caudal-fin rays; caudal-peduncle depth 6.1–8.7 % of standard length (SL); interorbital width 23.6–39.0 % HL; tip of maxillary barbel reaching the posterior margin of the eyes; outrostral barbel extending backward beyond the anterior nostrils; and anal-fin base length 4.0–5.5 % SL.

Mitochondrial Cyt b analysis further supports the distinctiveness of this population, revealing that it forms an independent phylogenetic lineage with a minimum genetic distance of 2.6 % from C. wulongensis. The description of this new species suggests that Claea dabryi represents a species complex containing multiple distinct lineages, the diversity of which requires further evaluation.