''Hsianwenia wui'' is an extinct species of

cyprinid fish 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 ...

of the family

Cyprinidae 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 ...

from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Tibetan 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, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

Taxonomy

This species is characterised by hypercalcified ribs, which occupy almost the entire body of the fish. The fish seemed to live in a hyper saline environment and the thick costal skeleton may have been an adaptation to this habitat. The excess salts absorbed by the fish being deposited in its bones throughout its life and leading to the thickened skeleton. It is named in honor of Professor W.U. Hsianwen (19001985), one of the founders of freshwater fish research in China.

References

Fish described in 2008 Prehistoric ray-finned fish genera Pliocene fish Neogene fish of Asia {{paleo-rayfinned-fish-stub