Sinobdella is a genus of eel-like freshwater fishes in the family Mastacembelidae, commonly known as spiny eels. They are found in freshwater river systems and lakes throughout southern and eastern China and northern Vietnam; there is also a presumably extinct species that used to be found in Taiwan.
Taxonomy Sinobdella is placed in Mastacembelidae alongside Macrognathus and Mastacembelus. It has historically been considered monotypic, containing only S. sinensis. Recently, however, a few new species have been described and assigned to this genus (such as S. longitubulus in 2024), and a few existing species have been moved to the genus from elsewhere.
Species
As of 2025, there are 6 recognized species in this genus, one of which is presumably extinct:
Sinobdella anguillaris (Mori, 1928) Sinobdella dienbienensis Nguyễn & Nguyễn, 2006 † Sinobdella kobayashii (Ōshima, 1926) Sinobdella longitubulus Shan & Zhang, 2024 Sinobdella magnificus Endruweit, 2024 Sinobdella sinensis (Bleeker, 1870)
References