''Schizopygopsis'' is a genus 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 vert ...

fish. Most species are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to river basins in the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

s and Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China, but ''S. stoliczkai'' extends into the highlands of Afghanistan, Iran, northern India,

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east ...

, Pakistan and

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Cent ...

.Delin Qi, Songchang Guo, Yan Chao, Qinghui Kong, Changzhong Li, Mingzhe Xia,Baosheng Xie and Kai Zhao (2015). The biogeography and phylogeny of schizothoracine fishes (Schizopygopsis) in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Zoologica Scripta 44(5). ''S. younghusbandi'' is up to almost in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

, but the remaining species generally only reach about two-thirds of that size. Similar to '' Platypharodon'', ''Schizopygopsis'' have a horny sheath on the lower jaw and spoon-shaped teeth that they use to scrape off

periphyton Periphyton is a complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems. The related term Aufwuchs (German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") refers to the ...

and

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular m ...

from stones, but they will also eat

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning ...

invertebrates.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. (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. ''Schizopygopsis'' is a part of the schizothoracines (snowtrout and allies), which also includes the genera '' Aspiorhynchus'', '' Chuanchia'', '' Diptychus'', '' Gymnodiptychus'', '' Gymnocypris'', '' Oxygymnocypris'', ''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 ''Schizothorax'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found in southern and western China, ...

'' 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 ...

''.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.

Species

There are currently eight recognized species in this genus: * '' Schizopygopsis anteroventris'' Wu & Tsao, 1989 * '' Schizopygopsis kessleri'' Herzenstein, 1891 * '' Schizopygopsis kialingensis'' W. X. Tsao & C. L. Tun, 1962 * '' Schizopygopsis malacanthus'' Herzenstein, 1891 * '' Schizopygopsis pylzovi''

Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to: * Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922 * Kessler (name), people named Kessler * ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981 * Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...

, 1876 * '' Schizopygopsis stoliczkai'' Steindachner, 1866 (false osman) * '' Schizopygopsis thermalis'' Herzenstein, 1891 * '' Schizopygopsis younghusbandi'' Regan, 1905

References

Cyprinidae genera Cyprinid fish of Asia {{Cyprininae-stub