Platypharodon extremus
Platypharodon extremus is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the upper Yellow River basin in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China. It is the only member of its genus, but is related to other schizothoracines like Aspiorhynchus, Chuanchia, Gymnocypris, Oxygymnocypris, Ptychobarbus, Schizopyge, Schizopygopsis and Schizothorax.
P. extremus reaches up to in length and in weight. Similar to Schizopygopsis, P. extremus has a horny sheath on the lower jaw and spoon-shaped teeth that it use to scrape off periphyton and algae from stones, but it will also eat benthic invertebrates.
An important food fish, P. extremus has seriously declined and is now listed as vulnerable on China's Red List. The species has been bred and raised in captivity, and individuals are released back into the wild from two purposely built stations in an attempt of countering its threatened status.
