Stream creatures — with puffy lips — discovered in China. See the colorful new species

In the mountainous streams of China, two puffy-lipped creatures navigate the current and rocky stream bottom.

Then, a small hand net dips into the water and scoops the animals up.

The net belongs to a group of researchers conducting surveys of the Yuanjiang River Basin and on the hunt for undiscovered species, according to a study published Aug. 22 in the journal Zookeys.

In one river, their nets caught a goby, a species of small freshwater fish that was a “creamy white” color, wrapped with “reddish-brown stripes” on its snout, according to the study.

The fish was just over an inch long and identified as a new species by the researchers.

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Rhinogobius sudoccidentalis is differentiated from other gobies by the “black line strip beneath the eye that extends to the (jaw),” researchers said.

Its fins are translucent but dotted with black spots that create a stripe pattern, according to the study, and females of the species are a bit more yellow.

Their eggs also stand out, researchers said.

“In the Xiushan area, R. sudoccidentalis is the dominant fish species, utilizing the cobblestone bottom as an egg deposition site, with eggs characterized as large,” according to the study. “During periods of high water levels in the creek, individuals aggregate near the shore to seek refuge from the rapids.”

The species earns its name from its discovery location, “sud,” meaning south in Latin, and “occidentalis,” meaning western, researchers said.

It wasn’t the only new species they discovered.

At a nearby stream that is part of the same river system, another goby was caught up in the hand net of researchers.

Rhinogobius lithopolychroma belongs to the same genus of goby fish and is roughly the same size but has a vastly different coloration, according to the study.

While R. sudoccidentalis has relatively neutral colors, R. lithopolychroma is multicolored and vibrant.

The males of the species have an off-white background color with orange spots on the cheeks and an orange section under the throat, according to the study. Orange spots down their body lead to red fins with blue and white edges.

Females of the species are more neutral but follow a similar scale pattern.

R. lithopolychroma was also named after its environment, “litho,” meaning stone in Ancient Greek, and “polychroma,” meaning rich in color.

This species lives in “fast-flowing, shallow streams” and also has “large” eggs that are found on the “bottom surface of the cobblestones,” according to the study.

Researchers said these larger eggs are an adaptation to the stream environment, compared to other gobies that tend to favor stagnant water such as lakes and reservoirs.

The new species being found exclusively in streams also shows how it may have become independent, as it would have been geographically separated and able to evolve separately from the other gobies, according to the study.

The gobies were found in streams in southwestern China.

The research team includes Lingzhen Li, Chaoyang Li, Weihan Shao, Suxing Fu and Chaowei Zhou.

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