Big-head schizothoracin

The big-head schizothoracin (Aspiorhynchus laticeps) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, the family which includes the carps, barbs and related fishes. It is the only member of the genus Aspiorhynchus,^[2] which is classified within the subfamily Schizothoracinae,^[3] the snow barbels.^[4] This species is endemic to Xinjiang, where it was found only in stagnant lakes and slow flowing rivers in the basin of the Tarim He. The only nown extant population is in the Kezier Reservoir, a population maintained by the introduction of captive bred fish. The big-head schizothracin is a predatory species which feeds on other cyprinids and Triplophysa loaches. It migrates into smaller, bouder strewn alluvial fan streams to spawn. ^[1]

Big-head schizothoracin
A. laticeps depicted in "The Fishes of India" (1878)
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Subfamily:	Schizothoracinae
Genus:	Aspiorhynchus Kessler, 1879
Species:	A. laticeps
Binomial name
Aspiorhynchus laticeps (Day, 1877)[2]
Synonyms[3]
Ptychobarbus laticeps Day, 1877 Ptychobarbus longiceps Day, 1877 Aspiorhynchus przewalskii Kessler, 1879 Aspiorhynchus sartus Zugmayer, 1909

See also

• List of endangered and protected species of China