We describe a new species of amblycipitid catfish, Liobagrus aequilabris, from the Xiangjiang, a tributary of the Changjiang (=Yangtze River), in Guangxi province of southern China. Liobagrus aequilabris differs from its congeners by a novel combination of characters that includes: lack of large, retrorse serrations on the posterior edge of the pectoral-fin spine, having upper and lower jaws of equal length, relatively long dorsal (7.5–10.2% SL) and pectoral-fin (9.1–12.1% SL) spines, a relatively long caudal fin (20.1–26.9% SL), and relatively few post-Weberian vertebrae (35–37). This species is only known from the Xiangjiang, but may also be present in the Lijiang, a tributary of the Zhujiang (=Pearl River), due to the presence of the Lingqu canal, which connects the Xiangjiang and Lijiang.

New taxon: Liobagrus aequilabris Wright and Ng