Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps) > Labeoninae
Etymology: Speolabeo: Derived from the classical Greek noun σπέος (speos), whimeaning cave, cavern, excavation;
and labeo, originally a Latin noun meaning a man with thick lips, which in ichthyology became a genus name, then a vernacular name as well as the base of the family-group name as a subfamily Labeoninae or tribe Labeonini; musaei: Name from the word Musaei meaning 'of the cave, belonging to the cave'; the genitive of the noun musaeum, a Latin word meaning cave (Ref. 86533).
More on authors: Kottelat & Steiner.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 18°N - 17°N, 105°E - 106°E
Asia: Xe Bangfai drainage (tributary of Mekong) in Central Laos. Known only from two caves ("Grotte des Nuages" and "Tham Pong") adjacent to the upstream extremity of the Xe Bangfai tunnel ("Tham Xe Bangfai" and "Tham Khoun Xe") (Ref. 86533).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86533)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
In addition to the absence of eyes and whitish color due to lack of pigmentation which are common characters to many hypogean fishes, Speolabeo musaei is distinguished from all species of Bangana, Altigena and 'B.' lemassoni-group by the following characters: dorsal fin with only 7-8½ branched rays (vs. 10-12½); pelvic-fin origin at the vertical between the first unbranched and first branched dorsal-fin rays (vs. at the vertical through 3rd to 6th branched rays); absence of tubercles on the snout (vs. presence of tubercles); edge of the upper jaw is distinct, very narrow, adnate to the upper lip and separated from it by a narrow and very shallow furrow (vs. upper jaw entirely enclosed in upper lip); distal edge of the dorsal fin is straight or slightly concave (vs. conspicuously concave in species of Altigena and Bangana); 35-37 scales on lateral line (vs. 40-47 in the 'B.' lemassoni-group, 40-43 in Bangana); and postlabial groove is confined in the corner of the mouth (vs. complete in Altigena, medially interrupted in Bangana and the 'B.' lemassoni-group) (Ref. 116545).
Found in caves (Ref. 86533).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Kottelat, M., 2017. Speolabeo, a new genus name for the cave fish Bangana musaei (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Zootaxa 4254(4):493-499. (Ref. 116545)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00933 (0.00435 - 0.02001), b=3.05 (2.88 - 3.22), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
