A new endemic species of fish, named Hemimyzon yushanensis, has been discovered near the Cishan River (旗山溪) and Laonong River (荖農溪) area, researchers said earlier this week.
The Yushan National Park Management Office commissioned National Taiwan Ocean University to conduct an ecological survey from 2022 to last year.
The newly discovered H yushanensis is more elongated and has a spotted back, compared with other species of the Hemimyzon family found in Taiwan, the office said on Monday.
Photo courtesy of the Yushan National Park Management Office
The team, headed by the university’s Institute of Marine Biology professor Chen I-shiung (陳義雄), submitted the findings to the international journal Zootaxa.
The Hemimyzon family is usually found in rapids with large amounts of highly dissolved oxygen, and their propagation relies on a stable supply of unpolluted running water, the office said.
The study, which was conducted across all three major water systems in the park — the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), the Siuguluan River (秀姑巒溪) and the Kaoping River (高屏溪) — was designed to probe into the park’s biodiversity, the office said.
The study also recorded how the increased presence of humans — a result of the government’s policies to encourage the public to be closer to nature — has affected local denizens, the office said.
The stability of stream ecosystems is essential for creating a functional and complete ecosystem, not only in the water, but also in the overall ecosystem, it said.
The office said it has always tried to conserve the ecosystems, but this cannot be achieved by the office alone, adding that the public needs to help with conservation efforts and not litter when visiting parks or disturb local wildlife.
Separately, National University of Tainan Department of Biological Sciences associate professor Huang Ming-chih (黃銘志) has also registered newly discovered DNA data with the US National Center for Biotechnology Information and has submitted his findings to the International Scientific Journal as of Jan 5.
When comparing samples of Bathynomus kensleyi and B jamesi, Huang’s team found that there were 59 different DNA positions amongst 596 known reading sequences, and that the two are separate species, contrary to what the late scientist James Lowry believed.
The findings show that B kensleyi is endemic to the eastern coast of Australia, concluding that “the correct species identity of Indian species other than Bathynomus keablei remains unknown.
Three of the four identified species, Bathynomus decemspinosus, B doederlini and B kensleyi, are shown to be misidentifications, as they do not occur in India and the only accepted record is that of Bathynomus keablei, according to Lowry and Dempsey’s 2006 study.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS