The ＂sixth species of fish＂ from the south of Yangtze River was recorded for the first time in Jiangyuan scientific research.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Xining, July 24th (Reporter Chen Jie, Liu Shiping) In 2023, the Jiangyuan Comprehensive Scientific Investigation Team started its scientific research in Dangqu, Jiangnan, Yangtze River. On the same day, the expedition team members from the Yangtze River Academy of Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources collected samples of Alpinia skrjabini in Dangqu. The study confirmed that Alpinia skrjabini was the "sixth species of fish" recorded in the south of the Yangtze River, and the number of known fish species in the south of the Yangtze River increased from 5 to 6.

　　Quickly put on the pants and fished along the river with a net in his hand. Before long, Liu Han, a member of the scientific research team, caught more than ten fish. By observing the external morphology and checking the internal structure, the expedition team found that four of the fish were Alpinia skrjabini.

　　Li Wei collected fish samples along the Dangqu River in the south of Yangtze River. Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Jie photo

　　Li Wei, head of the research and innovation team of key fish habitats in the Yangtze River source of Academia Sinica, said that there were 6 species of fish in the Tuotuo River in Zhengyuan of the Yangtze River, including 2 species of schizothorax fish and 4 species of plateau loach fish, while there were 5 species in Dangqu of Nanyuan.

　　This is an image of the adult fish specimen of Alpinia skrjabini collected by Li Wei in Dangqu, south of Yangtze River. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

　　Li Wei said that in the Jiangyuan scientific research, the team has collected new samples of plateau loach fish for many times. The discovery of Alpinia skrjabini in different seasons has confirmed that there are Alpinia skrjabini distributed in the south of Yangtze River, and the number of fish species in Dangqu has increased to 6.

　　It is understood that the genus Alpinia is the group with the highest species diversity among the fishes of the family Trachidae, and it is also the genus with the largest number of endemic species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with the characteristics of ecological diversity and rapid evolution. Among them, Alpine Misgurnus skrjabini has a cylindrical forepart and a flat hindquarters, and has strong adaptability to altitude changes, making it one of the fish with the highest distribution altitude in the world.

　　This is a photo taken on June 12, 2022 of the Dangqu River in the south of the Yangtze River (drone photo). Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Jie photo

　　Qi Delin, executive deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Ecology and Plateau Agriculture and Animal Husbandry jointly established by Qinghai University, said that this discovery of Jiangyuan scientific research is helpful to comprehensively grasp the background data of fish species diversity at the source of the Yangtze River and is of great significance to the authenticity and integrity protection of indigenous fish in the Yangtze River.

　　Fish is the "ecological environment barometer" of the Yangtze River source. "The record of Alpinia skrjabini in the south source of the Yangtze River indicates that the aquatic ecosystem in the source of the Yangtze River is healthy and continues to improve, and there is still the possibility of increasing fish diversity." Li Wei said that the research team will further study the fish composition, distribution characteristics and habitats of the three sources of the Yangtze River from the perspective of eco-hydrological adaptability.