Catfish · Other & oddball cats

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis

(Lv, He, Lei & Liu, 2026)

IUCNNOT EVALUATED
NEnot on the EX–LC scale
CARESNOT LISTED
Temperature57–72 °F14–22 °C
pH6.5–7.8alkaline
Depthnot recorded
DietNot documented for this species; presumed benthic grazer/micropredator like other glyptosternine sisorids, picking biofilm and small invertebrates from rock surfaces — a family-level generality
BreedingUnknown — undocumented in the wild and never kept or bred in captivity
Sexual dimorphismMinimalNot described in the accessible abstract of the original description
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis is a 2026-described glyptosternine torrent catfish known only from the Chishui River, a tributary of the upper Yangtze River drainage in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province, China. It was described by Hai-Min Lv, De-Kui He, Chun-Yun Lei and Fei Liu alongside its close relative T. baishuiensis, originally placed in the genus Sineuchiloglanis and separated from congeners by body proportions, fin-ray counts and mitochondrial Cytb sequence data. The Catalog of Fishes currently places the species in the related genus Tremeuchiloglanis rather than the genus used in the original description — a reassignment not explained in the portions of the source paper accessible for this article, which is deliberately brief as a result.

What's in the name

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensistrem-yoo-kil-oh-GLAN-iss chee-shwee-EN-siss

Tremeuchiloglanis
  • eu-Greekgood, true
  • cheilosGreeklip
  • glanisGreekcatfish — together the '-euchiloglanis' root shared by several related glyptosternine genera (Euchiloglanis, Pareuchiloglanis, Sineuchiloglanis, Tremeuchiloglanis). The meaning of the initial 'Trem-' element specific to this genus is not confirmed in the material accessible for this article, so it is not asserted here.
chishuiensis
  • ChishuiChinese (place name)the Chishui River, upper Yangtze River drainage, Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province, China — the type locality
  • -ensisLatinsuffix denoting place of origin

Taxonomy & naming

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis was described in 2026 by Hai-Min Lv, De-Kui He, Chun-Yun Lei and Fei Liu in ZooKeys, as one of two new glyptosternine catfish species collected from tributaries of the upper Yangtze River in Yunnan Province, China. The authors placed both new species in the genus Sineuchiloglanis, family Sisoridae, subfamily Glyptosterninae. The holotype (IHB 202507021) and its paratypes were collected from the Chishui River, upper Yangtze River drainage, Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province, China, at 27°45'N, 105°13'E and an elevation of roughly 2556 ft.

The Catalog of Fishes (Eschmeyer, California Academy of Sciences) currently lists the species as Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis (Lv, He, Lei & Liu, 2026) — the parenthetical authorship signalling that the currently accepted genus differs from the one used in the original description. The accessible portions of the source paper (its abstract, figure captions, and author/affiliation metadata) do not explain this reassignment; the full description, discussion and comparative-material sections were not part of the cached material for this article. This atlas follows the Catalog of Fishes' current combination, as it is the governing authority for valid names.

Morphology

Only the published abstract for the two-species paper was accessible, and it reports Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis's diagnostic features as a set of proportions and counts rather than a full description: eye diameter 6.8–9.1% of head length (HL); interorbital width 24.1–24.8% of HL; maxillary barbel length 67.1–84.4% of HL; caudal-peduncle depth 27.1–40.3% of caudal-peduncle length; dorsal-fin rays i,5½; anal-fin rays i,4½; caudal-fin rays i,7+8,i; gill opening extending to the base of the second to third pectoral-fin elements; the tip of the nasal barbel not reaching the anterior orbital margin; the pelvic-fin tip reaching or extending beyond the anus; and the abdomen slightly convex in profile. The authors report that a molecular phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial Cytb sequences supported the validity of the species alongside its sister description, T. baishuiensis. No absolute body length in centimetres is stated in the accessible abstract. Like other glyptosternine sisorids, it can be expected to have a dorsoventrally flattened body, scaleless skin and an expanded thoracic adhesive apparatus — a family-level generality, not a specific observation from the paper.

Habitat

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis is known only from its type locality, the Chishui River, a tributary of the upper Yangtze River drainage in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province, China, at roughly 2556 ft elevation. Photographs of the species' habitat are among the paper's figures, but the caption text accessible for this article does not describe water chemistry or current conditions. As with other Glyptosterninae, the species presumably inhabits fast-flowing, cool, well-oxygenated hillstream water over rock and cobble substrate — a family-level expectation consistent with its upland Yunnan locality, not a measured observation.

Feeding

No feeding observations for Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis were part of the accessible material. Like other glyptosternine sisorids, it is presumed to graze biofilm and pick at small invertebrates from rock surfaces in fast current — a family-level generality, not species-specific data.

Mating

No mating behaviour has been recorded for Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis, and no sexual dimorphism is described in the accessible abstract. This is a 2026 description known only from its type series.

Breeding

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis has never been kept or bred in captivity. Breeding biology is undocumented for the species and, as with most small-range Chinese Glyptosterninae, essentially undocumented for the genus as a whole.

In the aquarium

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis is not present in the aquarium trade — it is known only from a small scientific type series collected in Yunnan Province, China. Were material ever to reach hobbyists, the general approach for small glyptosternine sisorids would apply: cold to cool, fast-flowing, highly oxygenated water and a smooth rock or cobble substrate the fish can grip with its thoracic adhesive apparatus. As with all Sisoridae, the skin is scaleless, so medications should be dosed conservatively and fish should be moved in a container rather than netted. These are genus-level cautions, not confirmed data for this species.

Conservation

Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis has not been assessed by the IUCN Red List and carries a status of Not Evaluated, as expected for a species described in 2026. It is currently known only from a single locality on the Chishui River in Zhenxiong County, Yunnan Province, China; no population or threat data have been published in the material accessible for this article.

Others in Tremeuchiloglanis

Sources

  1. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes — Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis (original description record)
  2. Lv, H.-M., D.-K. He, C.-Y. Lei and F. Liu (2026). Two new species of glyptosternine catfish of the genus Sineuchiloglanis (Teleostei, Siluriformes, Sisoridae) from the upper Yangtze River drainage, China. ZooKeys No. 1268: 139-162.

Last reviewed 2026-09-03.

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Tremeuchiloglanis chishuiensis. Aquarist Atlas.https://www.aquaristatlas.com/catfish/tremeuchiloglanis-chishuiensis/

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