Morphological and molecular studies on Garra imberba and its related species in China

Garra imberba is widely distributed in China. At the moment, both Garra yiliangensis and G. hainanensis are treated as valid species, but they were initially named as a subspecies of G. pingi, a junior synonym of G. imberba. Garra alticorpora and G. nujiangensis also have similar morphological characters to G. imberba, but the taxonomic statuses and phylogenetic relationships of these species with G. imberba remains uncertain. In this study, 128 samples from the Jinshajiang, Red, Nanpanjiang, Lancangjiang, Nujiang Rivers as well as Hainan Island were measured while 1 mitochondrial gene and 1 nuclear intron of 24 samples were sequenced to explore the phylogenetic relationship of these five species. The results showed that G. hainanensis, G. yiliangensis, G. alticorpora and G. imberba are the same species with G. imberba being the valid species name, while G. nujiangensis is a valid species in and of itself.     

Occurrence of keratinization in the structures associated with lips of a hill stream fish Garra lamta(Hamilton)(Cyprinidae,Cypriniformes)

Keratinized regions were found to occur in the rostral cap, adhesive pad and horny jaw sheaths associated with the lips of Garra lamta, which inhabits fast flowing turbulent hill streams. In these structures, the surface epithelial cells were modified into characteristic keratinized spine‐like or columnar tooth‐like unculi, which would provide firm anchorage for the fish on the substratum and assist the fish in browsing or scraping food materials from it.     

What is Nummulites depressus Kenawy 1978? Evolution of Nummulites fabianii group in the Middle Eocene of Egypt

New species Nummulites vetustufabianiin. sp. is described from the El Hamra Formation, Gara El Hamra section Bahariya Oasis Western Desert. The biometrical measurements include maximum and minimum diameter of the successive radii and heights of whorls, length/height ratio, number of chambers and the marginal cord thickness of each whorl for the megalospheric generation as well as the diameter of proloculus were elaborated to differentiate between some allied granulated species such as Nummulites depressus, Nummulites decrouezae, Nummulites cuvillieri and N. vetustufabianiin. sp.Nummulites fabianii group has lateral distribution for the entire Tethys basin, hence such biometrical studies are needed to emphasise the polyphyletic nature of the group.     

解磷菌株B25的筛选、鉴定及其解磷能力

从安徽省铜陵市铜官山尾矿库木贼根际分离筛选出多株解磷细菌,经过多次筛选纯化获得一株解磷能力较好的菌株B25.采用透射电镜观察和DNA分子技术,确定此菌株属于芽孢杆菌属.研究了解磷菌株B25在培养168 h内的解磷能力、溶液pH值以及菌株生长量的变化情况,并比较了B25在不同条件下的解磷能力.结果表明：解磷菌株B25的解磷能力与溶液pH值之间存在微弱的相关性,在碳源为葡萄糖、初始pH值为7.0、培养温度为30 ℃时解磷效果较好.     

西藏雅鲁藏布江下游墨头鱼属一新种（鲤形目：鲤科）

2016年11月,于西藏自治区墨脱县雅鲁藏布江支流哈果河中采集到一批墨头鱼属鱼类标本,经鉴定为一新种,命名为西藏墨头鱼（Garra tibetana sp. nov.）。该种曾一度被误认为Garra kempi Hora 1921。经形态对比,该新种与G. kempi及同属其他近似物种的主要鉴别特征包括：吻部具微弱额突,吻前端横叶及两侧有若干角质单尖棘突;胸腹部均有鳞片覆盖;背鳍分枝鳍条7? ~ 8?,臀鳍分枝鳍条4?;侧线鳞39 ~ 42,背前鳞13 ~ 14,围尾柄鳞12 ~ 13;体高为体长的13.5% ~ 17.6%,尾柄高为体长的8.8% ~ 11.0%,肛门至臀鳍起点为腹鳍起点至臀鳍起点距离的47% ~ 56%。     

Retinal ellipsosomes: morphology,development, identification,and comparison with oil droplets

We report some unique features of retinal cone ellipsosomes in mountain-stream teleosts. They have also been compared with oil droplets occurring predominantly in many reptilian and avian retinas. Ontogenetically, ellipsosome differentiation from ellipsoidal mitochondria occurs with advance eye growth (diameter>1 mm). In juvenile loaches, they arise almost simultaneously in the dorsal and ventral retina, whereas in cyprinids, they appear first dorsally in bottom-dwelling early juveniles (approximate age 3–4 months), and then in the ventral retina in migratory late juveniles (eye diameter>4 mm, approximate age 2 years). The significance of the pattern of ontogeny of ellipsosomes in these stream fishes is discussed in relation to their utilization of a complex habitat during life. All adult cones possess conspicuous ellipsosomes. Histochemically, they react strongly with phosphotungstic-acid hematoxylin, a dye specific for proteins, whereas oil droplets refuse to do so (studied in turtle and pigeon). This reflects a major chemical difference between the two types of globules. Since ellipsosomes are present in the double cone accessory unit (which in higher vertebrates lacks an oil droplet) and since they appear late ontogenetically during advanced eye growth, they cannot be related to oil droplets, which have an embryonic developmental program.     

怒江东方墨头鱼的年龄结构与生长特性

2006年10月至2008年10月于怒江采集东方墨头鱼(Garra orientalis)136尾,体长54～167mm,体重3.0～114.6g。研究了其年龄、生长等生物学特性,通过耳石轮纹估算东方墨头鱼的年龄,显示怒江东方墨头鱼由10个年龄组组成。耳石半径与体长关系为:L=0.061R1.131(n=125,R2=0.907),体长与体重关系为:W=0.1×10-4L3.160。von Bertalanffy生长参数由退算体长估算:雄性L∞=224.79mm,k=0.094/年,t0=0.51年;雌性L∞=228.91mm,k=0.091/年,t0=0.639年;总体L∞=227.78mm,k=0.091/年,t0=0.588年。体重生长拐点雄性12.15龄、雌性13.75龄。     

Genetic differentiation between two sympatric morphs of the blind Iran cave barb Iranocypris typhlops

The phylogenetic relationship between two sympatric morphotypes of the Iran cave barb Iranocypris typhlops, and Garra rufa, was investigated by sequencing the cytochrome c oxidase I (coI) region (788 bp) providing the first molecular evidence of their phylogeny. Consistent with their morphological differences, the mean genetic distance between the two forms of I. typhlops was significantly higher than generally reported for intraspecific divergence in freshwater fishes. They were phylogenetically closer to G. rufa than to any other species.     

中国怒江流域墨头鱼属鱼类一新种(鲤形目:鲤科)

2003年4月,于怒江二级支流镇康县境内的大叉河中采获一批墨头鱼属（Garra）鱼类标本,经鉴定为一新种,命名为怒江墨头鱼（G. nujiangensis Chen and Yang, sp. nov.）。该新种主要鉴别特征：围尾柄鳞12～14;侧线鳞48～50;在小个体中有一对微小的吻须;背鳍分支鳍条 8～9;侧线上鳞5～6,侧线下鳞3～4;体高小于头长;臀鳍起点处的小于眼后至吻端的距离;腹鳍前长为体长的50.0%～53.7%;肛门前长为体长的58.9%～63.9%;体宽为体长的 16.7%～19.6%;体高为体长的19.2%～22.6%。本研究证实,在缺须的墨头鱼属的一些物种中,如高体墨头鱼（G. alticorpora）和怒江墨头鱼（G. nujiangensis）,其幼体中往往具有一对很小的吻须。     

Impact of the fish Garra on the ecology of reservoirs and the occurrence of Microcystis blooms in semi-arid tropical highlands: an experimental assessment using enclosures

1. Many man‐made reservoirs in the semi‐arid highlands of Northern Ethiopia (Tigray) are characterised by the occurrence of intensive blooms of cyanobacteria and a dominance of small riverine fishes belonging to the genus Garra. 2. We carried out enclosure experiments to test for the effect of these small fish on abiotic characteristics, phytoplankton biomass and zooplankton community structure in the pelagic of two reservoirs (Gereb Awso and Tsinkanet). Two experiments were carried out in each of the reservoirs, one at the end of the rainy season (highest water level) and one at the end of the dry season (lowest water level). 3. The presence of Garra in general increased the amount of suspended matter, nutrient concentrations (total nitrogen and total phosphorus), phytoplankton and Microcystis biomass (including the proportion of Microcystis in the phytoplankton community), and reduced water transparency. The positive effect of the presence of Garra on nutrient concentrations and phytoplankton productivity indicate that Garra has the potential to affect food web functioning indirectly through bottom‐up effects, by enhancing nutrient concentrations through sediment resuspension and excretion of nutrients. Indeed, population densities of the cladoceran zooplankton taxa Ceriodaphnia and Diaphanosoma also showed an overall increase in enclosures with Garra. 4. However, our data also provide some evidence for a potential of Garra to exert top‐down control on large bodied daphnids (Daphnia carinata, D. barbata), although such effect varied among experiments. The limited capability of Garra to control zooplankton communities mainly reflects the low efficiency of these small, riverine and benthos‐oriented fish in foraging on zooplankton and suggests the existence of an unoccupied niche for zooplanktivorous fish in the majority of the reservoirs. 5. Although the main effects of Garra on the pelagic food web seemed to be mediated by bottom‐up mechanisms, our results also indicate that one of the key variables, the relative abundance of Microcystis, was impacted by Daphnia‐mediated trophic cascade effects.