A new species of the rib-degenerated loach, genus Protocobitis (Cypriniformes, Cobitidae), from Guangxi, China

A new species of the genus <i>Protocobitis</i> is described based on morphological comparisons and molecular analyses from specimens of a subterranean tributary of the Hongshui River, Lingyun County, Baise City, and a cave in Jinya Township, Fengshan County, Hechi City, Guangxi, China. Both morphological and molecular data support the validity of <i>Protocobitislongibarba</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> The new species can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characteristics: whole body except for head and area between pectoral-fin and pelvic-fin origin sparsely covered with minute scales; barbels elongate; five or six branched pectoral-fin rays and four branched pelvic-fin rays; vertebrae 4+42. Maximum-likelihood and Bayesian-inference phylogenetic trees exhibited congruent topological structures, exhibiting high node support for the monophyly of <i>Protocobitislongibarba</i> (BPP = 1; BS = 100), which was clustered with the other congeners.