Life habits and morphological characteristics of Hainan little silverback

Squalidus minor (Squalidus minor) belongs to the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, subfamily Squalidae, and genus Squalidus. English name: Small silver gudgeon.

Endangerment level: Endangered.

The body is slightly longer and taller, the front part is slightly stronger, the abdomen is round, and the tail stalk is slender. The head is small. The tip of the snout is pointed. Mouth small, sub-inferior, deeply arcuate. Thin lips. No need. Big eyes. The lateral line is straight and has 33-34 lateral line scales. The dorsal fin has no hard spines; the pectoral and pelvic fins are short and pointed at the ends; the caudal fin is deeply forked. The body is light gray, the back is dark, and the abdomen is slightly fleshy. There are fine lead-black lines on the midline of the back, black vertical lines on the central axis of the body, and obvious posterior segments. The back and tail fins have black stripes, and other fins are grayish white.

Lives in small water bodies such as small tributaries of rivers and ponds, and the habitat conditions are shallow water areas with still water or micro-current water environment.

The distribution area is narrow, limited to local areas of the Nandu River and Wanquan River systems in Hainan Province. It is very rare in number and is an endangered species. The ecological environment of the current distribution area has been changed by human activities, and harmful fishing methods have caused great harm to the population. Extremely scarce natural resources are even shrinking.

animal tags：