A mountain stream species of the warmly temperate zone; likes clear water with plenty of rocks at bottom. Feeds on small fishes, shrimps and aquatic insects (Ref. 45563).

An endemic species of the eastern part of China. The earliest discovery of the fish was made in Baoqing of Hunan province. Now it is known that it is distributed in the Li Jiang river and the Yangtze River.

Siniperca roulei is a benthopelagic fish found in portions of the Yangtze River Basin, previously inhabitating even greater extents of the basin. The upper Yangtze basin is considered the part from the headwaters to the Three Gorges area, or a catchment area of approximately one million square kilometers; this upper basin is quite mountainous. The upper Yangtze basin consists chiefly of Paleozoic limestone and terrigenous sedimentary rock, with some granitic material. The highest elevation ecoregion of the Yangtze Basin is the uppermost reach or headwaters catchment area of the Yangtze, known as the Tibetan Plateau alpine shrub and meadows.

The most downstream element of the upper Yangtze basin is often termed the Sichuan Basin; here the Yangtze cuts through Triassic and Permian material before entering the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges area is a stretch of the Yangtze that runs approximately 660 kilometers, terminating at the site of the Three Gorges Dam.

Several other endemic benthopelagic fishes are found in the Yangtze, including: Anabarilius polylepis, Liobagrus kingi, Bangana rendahli, Pseudogyrinocheilus prochilus, and Sinocyclocheilus grahami. The demersal fish Silurus meridionalis also is found as a Yangtze River endemic species.

Asia: Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi in China.

Dorsal spines (total): 12 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 7

20.0 cm NG (male/unsexed; (Ref. 45563))

Snout pointed; lower jaw much projected and upper one reaching beneath eyes; preopercular serrated on hind margin and opercular spines 2; branchial membranes separated and free; gill rakers knobble-shaped. Pyloric caeca 5-10. Pectoral, pelvic and caudal fins rounded. Anomalistic macula and dark spots on the head and body sides (Ref. 85820).

This taxon is one of a number of benthopelagic species in the Yangtze River system. Benthopelagic fish inhabit the water column niche immediately above the bottom, feeding on benthos and zooplankton.

The upper Yangtze basin consists chiefly of Paleozoic limestone and terrigenous sedimentary rock, with some granitic material. The most downstream element of the upper Yangtze basin is often termed the Sichuan Basin; here the Yangtze cuts through Triassic and Permian material before entering the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges area is a stretch of the Yangtze that runs approximately 660 kilometers, terminating at the site of the Three Gorges Dam. Prior to construction of the dam, the Three Gorges area was a site of exceptional natural beauty; after dam construction the gorge areas were filled with approximately 100 meters in depth of Yangtze water, and considerable amounts of the watershed were graded.

The lower Yangtze basin consists of anabranching river structures and Pleistocene coastal terraces. Prior to development of the Three Gorges Dam, the Yangtze Delta was replenished with a copious sediment load reaching the river mouth; however, the dam has now severely limited the natural flow and deposition of sediment to the delta region. Consequently, the integrity of the delta is been compromised, with scouring exceeding deposition, and the very stability of the delta is endangered.

Lower and middle basins of the Yangtze carry heavy pollutant loads. In the lower Yangtze basin nitrate levels are high, measuring at about 1000 tons per day at Datong; these levels accrue from high applications of chemical fertilizer applied and also considerable loadings of untreated sewage due to the large human population of the basin, with correspondingly little infrastructure for sewage treatment.

Heavy metal concentrations are also high in the lower Yangtze, with measurements of dissolved lead at 0.078 microgram/liter; cadmium (0.024 microgram/liter), chromium (0.57 microgram/liter), copper (1.9 microgram/liter), and nickel (0.50 microgram/liter). Levels of dissolved arsenic have been measured at 3.3 microgram/liter) and zinc at 1.5 microgram/liter), both notably higher by factors of 5.5 and 2.5 respectively than other typical large world rivers. In Yangtze River suspended sediment, arsenic comprises 31 microgram/gram, lead comprises 83 microgram/gram, and nickel comprises 52 micrograms/gram of sediment content

A number of other benthopelagic associates are found in the Yangtze, including: Anabarilius polylepis, Bangana rendahli, Pseudogyrinocheilus prochilus, Sinocyclocheilus grahami and Siniperca roulei. The demersal fish Silurus meridionalis also is found as a Yangtze River endemic species.

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Freshwater

benthopelagic; freshwater

A mountain stream species of the warmly temperate zone; likes clear water with plenty of rocks at bottom. Carnivore. Feeds on small fishes, shrimps and aquatic insects.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species. 

 
There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank.   Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.  Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.
 

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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Species: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Not Evaluated

Conservation Actions