A new leuciscine cyprinid fish (Ostariophysi, Cypriniformes) from the middle Eocene of Central China

†Yucypris nanxiangensis, gen. et sp. nov., a fossil leuciscine from the middle Eocene Hetaoyuan Formation in the eastern part of the Nanxiang Basin, Henan Province, Central China is described herein. It differs from all subgroups of the leuciscine fishes with the combination of following characters: origin of anal fin behind the dorsal fin base with 9–10 branched anal fin rays, origin of dorsal fin behind pelvic fin base and closer to caudal fin base than to snout tip, no spine in dorsal or anal fins, pharyngeal teeth in three rows and moderately compressed with recurved tip as well as narrow, concave occlusal surface, opercular canal present, postcleithrum developed, distal end of the outer arm of the os suspensorium slightly expanded with a short medial process, pelvic bone forked deeply, and supraneurals hypertrophied. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that †Yucypris is closer to leuciscins + phoxinins and/or opsariichthyin-cultrin-xenocyprin group than to any other leuciscine subgroup. The discovery of the †Yucypris indicates that leuciscines have been diversified in Central China at least in the middle Eocene, contemporary with another leuciscine fish, †Palaeogobio zhongyuanensis, a gobinoinins, previously known from the early middle Eocene Member IV of the Shahejie Formation of Fanxian County, Henan Province.