''Chuanchia labiosa'' is a species of

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

fish that is only found in the upper reaches of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

basin in the

Qinghai–Tibet Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South and East Asi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where it mostly inhabits slow-flowing cold waters at altitudes above . It is the only member of its genus, but is related to other schizothoracines (snowtrout and allies) like '' Aspiorhynchus'', ''

Diptychus ''Diptychus'' is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish, consisting of two species found in Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau of China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, ranging west to the Tien Shan Mountains and Central Asia.Li, G.; Y. Tang; R. Zhang; and ...

'', ''

Gymnodiptychus ''Gymnodiptychus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found in freshwater habitats in the highlands of China, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.Kustareva, L.A., and A.M. Naseka (2015). Fish diversity in Kyrgyzstan: Species composition, fisheries and management ...

'', ''

Gymnocypris ''Gymnocypris'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to China. Species There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * ''Gymnocypris chilianensis'' S. C. Li & S. Y. Chang, 1974 * ''Gymnocypris chui'' T. L. Tchang, T ...

'', ''

Oxygymnocypris ''Oxygymnocypris stewartii'' is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Tibet and occurs in the Yarlung Tsangpo River (=upper Brahmaputra) and its tributaries at altitudes above in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is the only species in its genus. ...

'', '' Platypharodon'', ''

Ptychobarbus ''Ptychobarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish that is found in rivers, streams and lakes in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau of China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, extending into the highlands of Afghanistan. They reach up to in weight and about ...

'', ''

Schizopyge ''Schizopyge'' is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish found in Pakistan and the northwestern part of India. ''Schizopyge'' is closely related to ''Schizothorax'' and some species have historically been moved between the two genera. Species There ...

'', ''

Schizopygopsis ''Schizopygopsis'' is a genus of cyprinid fish. Most species are endemic to river basins in the Himalayas and Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China, but ''S. stoliczkai'' extends into the highlands of Afghanistan, Iran, northern India, Kyrgyzstan, Pak ...

'' and ''

Schizothorax ''Schizothorax'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found in southern and western China, through northern South Asia (Himalaya) and Central Asia, to Iran, with a single species, ''S. prophylax'', in Turkey.Yang, J.; J.X. Yang; and X.Y. Chen (2012). A re ...

''.Tang, Y.; C. Li; K. Wanghe; C. Feng; C. Tong; F. Tian; and K. Zhao (2019). Convergent evolution misled taxonomy in schizothoracine fishes (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 134: 323–337 Qi, D.; Y. Chao; Y. Zhao; M. Xia; and R. Wu (2018). Molecular evolution of myoglobin in the Tibetan Plateau endemic schizothoracine fish (Cyprinidae, Teleostei) and tissue-specific expression changes under hypoxia. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry 44(2): 557–571. .Qi, D.; Y. Chao; S. Guo; L. Zhao; T. Li; F. Wei; and X. Zhao (2012). Convergent, Parallel and Correlated Evolution of Trophic Morphologies in the Subfamily Schizothoracinae from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. PLoS ONE 7(3): e34070. ''Chuanchia labiosa'' reaches up to in length. Its lower jaw has a horny sheath, which it uses to scrape invertebrates and algae off the bottom.Qi, D. (2016). Fish of the Upper Yellow River. Pp. 233–252 in: G.J. Brierley et al. (eds.). Landscape and Ecosystem Diversity, Dynamics and Management in the Yellow River Source Zone. Springer Geography. It has seriously declined because of habitat loss, overfishing and

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

, and is now listed as vulnerable on China's Red List.

References

Cyprinid fish of Asia Freshwater fish of China Taxa named by Solomon Herzenstein Fish described in 1891 {{Cyprinidae-stub