Top News Henan Business Daily reporter Song Hongsheng Intern Jin Ping Correspondent Liu Jilei text/photo
"Henan fish" on the new!
"It can be said that this is the first 'Henan fish' with '100% property rights'." On November 16, Nie Guoxing, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Fisheries College of Henan Normal University, told the top news Henan Business Daily reporter that the Henan Provincial Fish Resources Survey Team led by him found a new fish species in the Nanyang Stork River - "Stork River Homer Loach".
【"Henan fish" with "100% property rights"】
In the biological specimen exhibition hall of Henan Normal University, the reporter personally saw this "Henan fish" - the shape is like a loach, the body length is about 9 cm, the entire body is elongated, the front section is cylindrical, the rear end is flat, and the body is covered with small scales.
"On March 21, 2017, we found it in the Stork River, a tributary of the Han River basin in Xixia County, Nanyang City." Nie Guoxing recalled that the fish lived at an altitude of 521 meters, the water temperature was low, and the overall resources were small, and at first the team members just felt that the markings on the side of the fish were not the same as those found before.
"It is distinguished from other species in this genus by a wide vertical band of brown on the side of the body." Nie Guoxing introduced that the anterior area of the back of this species of fish is partially covered with scales, and the anterior edge of the dorsal fin of the tail fin and the fat fold in front are not connected, and the overall body color is darker. Later, combined with laboratory work, through further morphological anatomy and molecular biology, it was confirmed that the loach-like stork river Homer loach was indeed a new species.
Not long ago, the paper of Nie Guoxing's team on the discovery of the Stork River Homer loach was adopted and published by the Scientific Citation Index (SCI) source journal "Journal of Biodiversity Data (BDJ)", which means that the "identity" of this new species of fish has been recognized by the academic community. The Stork River Homer loach has also become the first new species of fish discovered, named and "identified" by the Henan scientific research team in Henan and "announced" on the international academic platform.
【"Rescue protection" can not be delayed】
"These fish, which grow on a large scale in China, have always used foreign names in the academic community, which makes domestic aquatic researchers feel very depressed." Nie Guoxing told reporters that about 80% of domestic freshwater fish are named from abroad, such as the well-known white striped fish and carp.
According to international naming conventions, "the Stork River is the place where it was found, and the Homer loach is its genus name." Therefore, the Stork River Homer loach can be called a "native Henan fish". At the same time, this species of fish has important ornamental value and ecological value, which provides excellent germplasm resources for the further development and utilization of aquatic resources in our province.
According to Nie Guoxing, the Stork River Homer loach is only found in the Stork River Basin, its living water quality is clear, the fluidity is better, and its life in the low water temperature of the mountainous area, the amount of fish resources is small, the dependence on the environment is strong. In today's increasingly environmental impact of human activities, it is in danger of extinction at any time.
"Now that we have mastered the distribution area and living habits of the Stork River Homer loach, the relevant departments can carry out timely and effective rescue protection through targeted methods such as building protected areas." Nie Guoxing hopes that in accordance with the suggestions of the state and Henan Province on the protection of aquatic germplasm resources, a germplasm resources conservation area will be established as soon as possible in its distribution area to protect the living environment of the fish.
Today, Nie Guoxing and many members of his team have participated in the formulation of the Henan Provincial Agricultural Germplasm Resources Conservation and Utilization Plan (2020-2035) and carried out in situ conservation work, providing conditions for ensuring the stable development of the effective population of this species of fish.
【7 new species of "Henan fish" are being declared】
Since the census of fish resources began in October 2012, the Fish Resources Survey Team of Henan Province has grown from a team of 5 people at the beginning to a team of more than 200 doctoral, master's and undergraduate students today, and has gradually formed 10 scientific research teams including aquatic animal nutrition and feed, aquatic germplasm resources protection, fishery resources and environment.
"A lot of people don't understand our work and think our work doesn't make sense. Everyone knows that the population needs a census, and what we do is 'fish census takers'. Dr. Tang Yongtao, a member of the investigation team, said that when they went down to investigate and sample, they often got up before five o'clock in the morning and stayed by the country and the river all day. In order to get the most accurate data, they often go down to the river to catch fish, go to the fish market to investigate, and visit the villagers' homes.
In the past 9 years, the footprints of the survey team members have covered 108 counties in 18 prefectures and cities in the province, with a cumulative journey of more than 350,000 kilometers, collected at more than 2,600 survey samples, saved 150,000 samples of the organization, took the organization sample to save 38828, and measured and counted 33050, and mastered the first-hand information on the distribution of fish species and resources in the province.
Up to now, the investigation team has confirmed 137 species of fish, which is 35 species more than the fish in Henan Fish Chronicle and supplementary records published in 1984 in our province, and found 20 new record species in Henan Province, which further enriches the data of fish fauna in our province and is of great significance to the research on biodiversity and conservation in our province.
In addition to the Stork River Homer loach, Nie Guoxing also revealed to reporters that the team also found and named 7 other new species of fish, all of which are in the declaration.