figure a

Common name: Qinghai Lake naked carp. Local name: Huang Yu (Chinese); Scaleless carp. Conservation status: Endangered, China Species Red List (Wang and Xie 2004). Identification: Fin rays: D(IV)6–9, A(III)5, P(I)16–20, V(I)8–10; pharyngeal teeth: 3.4–4.3; gill rakers of the first gill arch: 30(13–51), 46(23–72); body elongate and compressed, mouth terminal or sub-inferior and horseshoe-shaped; no barbels; body naked except 14–41 anal scales and 3–4 rows of scales in the shoulder girdle; lateral line scales degenerated to skinfold; last unbranched ray of dorsal fin hard with posterior serrations (Wu and Wu 1992). Illustration from Chen and Cao (2000). Distribution: Narrowly distributed in Qinghai Lake Basin located on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in western China, with a record in Keluke Lake, Qinghai province (Wu and Wu 1992). Abundance: Up to 20 × 104 tons in 1960 (Shi et al. 2000), but has sharply decreased since 1970s to less than 0.5 × 104 tons now (Chen et al. 2009), and has not been collected in Keluke Lake since 1997 (Zhao 2006). Habitat and ecology: Predominantly distributed the layer about 2 m under the surface (Chen et al. 2009), mainly feeds on crustacean zooplankton, aquatic insects and Bacillariophyceae (Wang et al. 1975), slow growth. Reproduction: Sexual maturity over 7 years, relative fecundity 28.75 eggs per gram, seasonally migrates to inflowing rivers to spawn over the sandy, gravel beds, at 6–17.5°C water temperature from April to July (Hu et al. 1975). Threats: Illegal fishing, reduction of spawning habitat by construction of weirs, irrigation diversions and inflowing rives running dry, and ecological deterioration, especially decreasing water lever and increasing salinity (Walker et al. 1996). Conservation actions: Closed fishing for four times since 1982: 1982–1984, 1986–1989, 1994–2000, 2001–2010. Rescue Center of Gymnocypris przewalskii was established in 2003. Conservation recommendations: Effective spawning habitat protection and restoration is critical. Artificial enhancement and release, forbidding fishing, longtime monitoring and increased public awareness are necessary.