An ichthyofaunistic survey of Mekong tributaries in Lincang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China yielded a new species of nemacheilid loach, herein described as Schistura sexnubes species nova. The new species is readily distinguishable from its congeners by the following combination of characters: 8+8 branched caudal fin rays, an incomplete lateral line, a dissociated caudal bar, a shallow cauda...

A transient increase in the level of free cytosolic Ca2+ is observed upon fertilization of the eggs of many species and is thought to represent a key event in the initiation of development. To identify components in the egg which could be involved in mediating such Ca2+ signals we searched for Ca(2+)-binding proteins in eggs of the fresh-water fish Misgurnus fossilis (loach). We show that loach...

Three different concentrations of clove oil were applied to two different size groups of singhi (Heteropneustes fossilis) and lata (Channa punctatus) fish to observe the anaesthetic effect and to find an optimum dose. Two groups each consisting of 10 fish was exposed to 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03% clove oil. All fish of either size anaesthetized with 0.01% clove oil exhibited longer induction and shor...

Oocytes of Pleurodeles waltl were activated after in vivo maturation by needle pricking or electric shock. After in vitro maturation, the oocytes were not activated by these stimuli. Coelomic oocytes and the oocytes which began their maturation in vivo could be activated by electric shock. During in vivo oocyte maturation, the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), the key enzym...

Here, we propose a simple and inexpensive method for fish sperm cryopreservation. Sperm samples of the loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Teleostei: Cobitidae) were diluted 7-fold by an extender containing 63.5 mM NaCl, 114 mM KCl, 20 mM Tris and 10% methanol. The cryogenic straws were placed in three kinds of self-made tubes which diameter was changed by commercially available materials and the...

Biological invasion is a pervasive negative force of global change, especially in its effects on sensitive freshwater ecosystems. Even protected areas are usually not immune. Ptychobarbus chungtienensis is a threatened freshwater fish now almost confined to Bita Lake, in the Shangri-La region of Yunnan province, China. Its existence is threatened by the introduction of non-native weatherfishes ...

Differential scanning microcalorimetry was used to assess the conformational stability of muscle lactate dehydrogenase (M4-LDH) from skeletal muscle of Misgurnus fossilis (loach) fishes adapted to low (the “cold” enzyme) and high (the “warm” enzyme) environmental temperatures. It was found that the denaturation temperature Td was the same for both forms of lactate dehydrogenase, whereas the den...

The dojo loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus is an endemic freshwater species in Asia. effective conservation and molecular-aided selection of M. were limited without sufficient molecular markers. In this study, 112 novel single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers screened based on 2b-RAD sequencing database, 56 SNPs them developed characterized by genotyping 40 individuals using SNaPshot method...