The complete mitochondrial genome of Schistura rara Zhu and Cao 1987 (Nemacheilidae)

Schistura rara, a small stream-dwelling fish of the family Nemacheilidae, is endemic to headwater streams of the Beijiang River in Shaoguan, China. Here, we report the first complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of S. rara, which is 16,563 bp in length and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes, and a single non-coding control region (D-loop). The mitogenome has a GC content of 42.8% and shows a clear bias toward A/C-ending codons in PCGs. Maximum-likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analyses based on complete mitogenome sequences indicate that Schistura is non-monophyletic. Within this framework, S. rara is recovered as the sister species to S. incerta and, together with one lineage of S. fasciolata, forms a well-supported clade. These three species are the only Schistura taxa recorded from the upper Beijiang River. The newly generated mitogenomic data provide an important genetic resource for clarifying the phylogenetic position and taxonomic status of S. rara within Nemacheilidae.