Paleontologist Dr. ZHANG Miman, a senior professor of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, paid a visit to Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences on December 27, 2019.

During her visit, she attended the forum with the title of “Evolution and Ecology” which was organized by the Center for Aquatic Biodiversity and Resource Conservation at IHB and gave an oral presentation on the research and prospect of cenozoic fossil fish on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

She reviewed her acquaintance with IHB Prof. WU Xianwen and other ichthyologists of the older generation at IHB. She also introduced the fish fossils of Neogene found in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their indicative significance to the paleoenvironment of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

She introduced that the discovery process of the fossil fish Hsianwenia wui, characterized by an extraordinarily thick skeleton that occupied almost the entire body, and formation mechanism of skeletal thickening and paleoenvironment of the late Pliocene Qaidam Basin. The fossil specimens was found in the Pliocene lake deposits of the upper part of the Shizigou formation of Yahu anticline axis, West by central Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, China.

The fossil species H. wui resembles barbines and primitive schizothoracines (Cyprinidae) in many respects and, at the same time, shares a few characters with some specialized schizothoracines.

The genus and species name of fish fossil is dedicated to the late Prof. WU Xianwen at IHB, who made great contributions to the study of the Chinese cyprinids.

Dr. Zhang shared with IHB researchers and students her experiences in the field work and encouraged them to persist in doing morphological studies.