Neolissochilus, a new genus of South Asian cyprinid fishes

The genus Neolissochilus, described herein, contains twenty-three nominal taxa and is most closely related to Tor Gray. The genus, originally containing two species, was proposed as Lissochilus Weber & de Beaufort, 1916, a homonym but not a synonym of Lissochilus Zittel, 1882. The most important character of the earlier genus, a sharply edged, horny covering of the mandible is ecophenotypically variable in these as in many other barbins, and therefore, a sharp lower jaw cannot serve as the primary distinguishing character for this lineage. Yet, the two species separated by Weber and de Beaufort (op. cit.) are contained within a distinct species assemblage. Besides a complete generic description and evaluation of diagnostic characters, the nominal taxa included in this “new Lissochilus” are discussed with reference to their type material and the nomenclatorial problems the complete species revision must address.