为及时掌握中国脊椎动物在2023年的新发现情况, 本文汇总了73份文献报道的脊椎动物新物种及新记录种基本信息。 结果表明,中国脊椎动物2023年新增93种, 隶属于14目40科61属。新增物种包括新种69种, 新记录15种, 亚种级提升为种级9种; 其中鱼类4目9科13属18种; 两栖类2目9科18属31种(新种23种、新记录8种); 爬行类2目9科12属22种(新种21种、亚种级提升为种级1种); 鸟类3目8科10属10种(亚种级提升为种级4种、新记录6种); 哺乳类3目5科8属12种(新种7种、新记录1种、亚种级提升为种级4种)。在新增物种中, 变温脊椎动物有71种, 占总数的76%; 哺乳类集中于劳亚食虫目(6/12)和啮齿目(5/12)、鸟类集中于雀形目(8/10)、爬行类集中于有鳞目(21/22)、两栖类集中于无尾目(27/31)、而鱼类新增物种集中于鲤形目(15/18)。本次新增物种分布记录涉及21个省域, 仅记录于1个省域的有79种; 云南、西藏、广西、四川、贵州分别有29种、13种、10种、10种和9种。发表时应用了分子系统学研究结果的有79种。有82种发表于学术期刊上(24份英文期刊发表了79种, 其中中国主办的2份英文期刊发表了14种; 2份中文期刊发表了3种)。本文工作可为脊椎动物的分类和保护等相关工作提供基础信息。此外, 本文也提示变温脊椎动物可能是中国以后脊椎动物物种多样性调查研究的热点类群, 整合分类方法是未来分类工作的重要支撑。

Aim: To collate and report new vertebrate species discovered in China in 2023.

Method: This paper summarizes the basic information about discoveries of vertebrate species from academic literature published in 2023, including 73 citations.

Results: In 2023, 93 vertebrate species were discovered in China, including 69 species new to science, 15 species not previously reported in China, and 9 valid species that were upgraded from subspecies. These species belong to 14 orders, 40 families, and 61 genera. Among them, there are 18 new species of fish; 31 species of amphibian, including 23 new species and 8 newly recorded in China; 22 species of reptile, including 21 new species and 1 newly recorded in China; 10 species of bird, including 4 species upgraded from subspecies and 6 newly recorded in China; 12 species of mammal, including 7 new species, 1 newly recorded in China, and 4 species upgraded from subspecies. Ectotherm vertebrates account for 76% of new discoveries; most of the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds were species of Cypriniformes (15/18), Anura (27/31), Squamata (21/22), and Passeriformes (8/10), respectively, while most of mammals were species of Eulipotyphla (6/12) or Rodentia (5/12). These 93 newly discovered vertebrates were recorded in 21 provincial regions. Of these species, 79 were recorded in only one provincial region, while there were 29, 13, 10, 10, and 9 new species recorded in Yunnan, Xizang, Guangxi, Sichuan, and Guizhou, respectively. A total of 79 of these discovered species have been supported by molecular systematics. There were 82 species published in academic journals, 14 of which were published in two English journals in China and 3 of which were published in two Chinese journals.

Conclusion: This article provides basic information needed for the classification and protection of vertebrate species in China. In addition, it indicates that ectotherm vertebrates may be the hot group of vertebrate species studied in diversity research in China, and an integrated classification approach is essential to support future taxonomic studies.