Habits and economic value of the lip carp (only in the water but not in the water)

Liped dace (Semilabeo notabilis) belongs to the order Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae, subfamily Daphne subfamily, and the genus Semilabeo notabilis. Commonly known as: Wuliu fish, declining fish, wooden fish, lip fish, rock dace, and rock fish.

The body is long and cylindrical, slightly flattened on the sides, flat on the abdomen, and flat on the sides of the tail peduncle. The head is slightly blunt and narrow, and the top of the head is slightly convex; the snout is round and blunt; the mouth is large, lower, and transversely cleft. The rostrum is connected with the upper lip and covers the upper jaw. The posterior edge is straight, and the edge area is covered with granular horny papillae, which are densely arranged. The lower lip is thick, and its outer edge is covered with small papillae, which extends into a triangle toward the forehead. The edges of the upper and lower jaws are sharp and completely covered by thick lips. The retrolabial sulcus is limited to the corners of the mouth. The eyes are large and high, with the upper edge almost flush with the top of the skull. There are 2 pairs of barbels, both of which are small, and the jaw barbels often degenerate. The scales are larger and the lateral lines are straight; the dorsal fin has no hard spines and the final unbranched fin rays are soft, with the longest length exceeding the head length. The body is yellowish-brown, with a darker back and a milky white abdomen; there are 8-9 gray-brown vertical stripes between scales on the sides of the body from the back of the head to the base of the tail fin; each fin is gray-brown.

The lip carp is a fish found in the middle and lower layers of rivers. It likes waters with clear water quality and fast currents. It often swims upstream. Fishermen call it "only on the water but never on the water", so it is also known as the "falling fish". They often live in caves with flowing water from mountain streams, and are also called "rock fish". This fish is often weighed less than 6 pounds, so it is also called "Wuliu fish". From November to March of the following year, lip-faced dace enters caves connected to springs with groundwater to overwinter, scraping algae and organic debris. The breeding period is from February to May. They lay eggs in caves with flowing water, and the eggs are attached to the gravel on the river bottom.

Liped dace is distributed in Beijiang and Xijiang in the Pearl River system. This fish is also found in Yuanjiang, Yunnan.

Common individuals weigh 1-2 kilograms, and the maximum weight can reach 5 kilograms. The meat is tender and delicious, and the fat content is high. It is a precious economic fish, and the output in the Beijiang and Guiping river sections in Guangxi is considerable.

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