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| Oreonectes damingshanensis Yu, Luo, Lan, Xiao & Zhou, in Yu, Luo, Lan, Zhou, Deng, Xiao et Zhou. 2023. |
Abstract
In this work, a new species of the genus Oreonectes is described, named Oreonectes damingshanensis Yu, Luo, Lan, Xiao & Zhou, sp. nov., collected from the Damingshan Mountains of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Phylogenetic trees constructed based on the mitochondrial Cyt b showed that the new species represents an independent evolutionary lineage, with uncorrected genetic distances (p-distance) from congeners ranging from 6.1% to 8.9%. Morphologically, the new species can be distinguished from five other species of the genus by a combination of characters. The discovery of this new species raises the number of known species of Oreonectes from five to six. Our study suggests that O. platycephalus may be a complex containing multiple species and that previously recorded areas need to be further delimited and reevaluated.
Key words: Morphology, new species, Oreonectes platycephalus complex, phylogeny, taxonomy
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| Live paratype of Oreonectes damingshanensis sp. nov. |
Oreonectes damingshanensis Yu, Luo, Lan, Xiao & Zhou, sp. nov.
Oreonectes platycephalus (Günther, 1868): Wang 2022 (Guangxi, China); Luo et al. 2023 (Damingshan Mountains, Shanglin County, Guangxi, China).
Diagnosis: Oreonectes damingshanensis sp. nov. is assigned to the genus Oreonectes based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and the following characteristics, which are diagnostic for this genus: (1) anterior and posterior nostrils narrowly separated; (2) lips smooth, with furrows; (3) barbel-like elongation of anterior nostrils longer than depth of nostril tube; and (4) caudal fin rounded, dorsal fin with 6 or 7 branched rays (Du et al. 2023).
Etymology: The species epithet damingshanensis refers to the type locality, located within the Damingshan Mountains, Guangxi, China. The suggested English name is the Damingshan Mountains loach, and the Chinese name is Dà Míng Shān Lıˇng Qiū (大明山岭鳅).
Jing Yu, Tao Luo, Chang-Ting Lan, Jia-Jun Zhou, Huai-Qing Deng, Ning Xiao and Jiang Zhou. 2023. Oreonectes damingshanensis (Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae), A New Species of Stream Fish from Guangxi, Southwest China. ZooKeys. 1180: 81-104. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1180.104645
