Siberian Stone Loach
(Barbatula toni)
Image source: sergeymakeev | inaturalist.org
Asia: all rivers flowing to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans between the Ob and the Huang He.
Max length: 20 cm TL; max. published weight: 121 g
Dorsal soft rays (total): 10; Anal soft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 42 - 43.
Together with Barbatula altayensis and B. sawadai, this species differs from all other congeners from northern Asia by having the body scaled predorsally (vs. body scaled posterior to the dorsal-fin origin, or scales only on the caudal-fin base).
It can be distinguished from B. altayensis and B. sawadai in having widely separated nostril (vs. closely-set) and further from B. altayensis in having 42-43 vertebrae (vs. 44-45), and further from B. sawadai in having 7 branched dorsal-fin rays (vs. 8).
