Main Ref. | Kottelat, M., 2017 |
Appearance refers to | |
Bones in OsteoBase |
Specialized organs | |
Different appearance | always different morphology between mature adults |
Different colors | |
Remarks | Males differ from females by the following characters: suborbital flap present (vs. neither suborbital flap nor suborbital slit in females); pectoral fin strongly falcate (vs. rounded in females); unbranched and first branched rays rigid, arched and curled upwards; first branched ray about 5 times wider than other branched rays, flattened dorso-ventrally, reaching beyond pelvic-fin base; absence of membrane between the branches and all sub-branches; second branched ray slender, branched only at tip, membrane between branches very narrow. |
Striking features | |
Body shape lateral | |
Cross section | |
Dorsal head profile | |
Type of eyes | |
Type of mouth/snout | |
Position of mouth | |
Type of scales | |
Diagnosis |
Malihkaia is diagnosed from all genera of nemacheilids by the unique morphology of the lips and the unique pectoral fin sexual dimorphism. Lips are characterized by the following traits: : thick, consting of numerous, closely set, deep furrows; upper lip with a small median notch, transverse furrows on its whole length, edge crenulated; lower lip with a median interruption, transverse furrows on its whole length, edge crenulated. Pectoral fin is strongly falcate in males, greatly elongated as a ‘wing’, rigid and curled, with the first branched ray the longest, and with all branches and sub-branches adjacent and absence of membranes between them. Other diagnostic characters include the following: presence of processus dentiformis; presence of suborbital flap present in males; dorsal fin with 8½ branched rays; caudal fin with 9+8 branched rays; presence of axillary pelvic lobe; anus situated about 1.5-2 eye diameter in front of anal fin; body entirely scaled; lateral line complete; air bladder without posterior chamber; body with 9-12 bars extending from dorsal midline to level of pectoral fin, bars of quite regular width and shape in front of dorsal fin, less regular posteriorly, much wider than interspaces; and black mark at caudal-fin base made of a more or less squarish blotch in middle of base, a more or less triangular blotch over dorsal procurrent rays, fainter pigments over base of uppermost and lowermost 4-6 principal rays of caudal fin (Ref. 116725). |
Ease of Identification |
Lateral Lines | Interrupted: No |
Scales on lateral line | |
Pored lateral line scales | 89 - 99 |
Scales in lateral series | |
Scale rows above lateral line | |
Scale rows below lateral line | |
Scales around caudal peduncle | |
Barbels | |
Gill clefts (sharks/rays only) | |
Gill rakers | |
on lower limb | |
on upper limb | |
total | |
Vertebrae | |
preanal | |
total |
Attributes | no striking attributes |
Fins number | 1 |
Finlets No. | Dorsal |
Ventral | |
Spines total | |
Soft-rays total | 12 - 12 |
Adipose fin | absent |
Attributes | forked |
Fins number | |
Spines total | |
Soft-rays total | 8 - 8 |
Pectoral | Attributes |
Spines | |
Soft-rays 11 - 11 | |
Pelvics | Attributes more or less normal |
Position abdominal behind origin of D1 | |
Spines | |
Soft-rays 7 - 8 |