The determination following N
ICHOLS'S keys (1943) has brought following results: The specimens from Yang-tse-kiang (China) belong to
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus tungting, one specimen from Nagasaki (Hondo, Japan) is believed to belong to
Misgurnus mizolepis elongatus, similarly as specimens from Kyushu and Kagawa Prefecture (both in Japan). Four specimens from Hyogo and 1 sp.from Kagawa Prefecture were determined as
Misgurnus mizolepis elongatus and
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus anguillicaudatus.It seems probable that the species M
isgurnus anguillicaudatus can be divided in two groups, the one with a shorter, the other with a longer caudal peduncle. To the first group belong than
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus with its subspecies
M. anguilli caudatus anguillicaudatus and
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus tungting. To the second one
Misgurnus erikssoni R
ENDAHL 1922 and
Misgurnus mizolepis with its subspecies
M. m. mizolepis G
ÜNTHER 1888,
M. mizolepis grangeri N
ICHOLS 1925, M. mizolepis fukien N
ICHOLS 1925,
M. mizolepis punctatus O
SHIMA 1926,
M. mizolepis hainan N
ICHOLS et P
OPE 1927,
M. mizolepis unicolor L
IN 1932,
M. mizolepis elongatus K
IMURA 1934.
The intergrade between both groups is the species
M. mohoity D
YBOWSKI 1869, with its subspecies
M. mohoity yunnan N
ICHOLS 1925 and
M. mohoity leopardus N
ICHOLS 1925,
M. crossochilus S
AUVAGE 1878 has an unclear systematic position (see N
ICHOLS 1943) and according to F
ANG (1943) this species is identical with
M. anguillicaudatus. The variability of
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, mentioned already by G
ÜNTHER (1868) seems to be very probable especially regarding the body depth, but the occurence of dilatation of tail “by fatty layers along the upper and lower rudimentary caudal rays ” thought by G
ÜNTHER (1. c.) as caused by different kinds of food is for N
ICHOLS (1943) a systematic character of the subgeneric rank.
The subspecific value of some forms will be probably revised in the future, when we keep the conception of BERG (1948). The occurence of two subspecies on one locality seems impossible (e. g.
M. mizolepis punctatus and
M. mizolepis hainan both on the island of Hainan,
M. mizolepis unicolor and
M. mizolepis hainan in Heung chow,
M. mizolepis fukien and
M. mizolepis punctatus in Fukien). It is very remark able to note that
M. mizolepis hainan lives from Hainan to Heungchow (throughout the province Fukien) and
M. mizolepis punctatus has approximately the same areal from the island of Hainan to the province of Fukien. We can than assume that in the same areal of Fukien according to data of N
ICHOLS (1943) three subspecies of
Misgurnus mizolepis (fukien, punctatus, hainan) occur. This is in contradiction with the BERG'S concept of the subspecies as a geographical unit.
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