identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
430E90FCB5FD5E97B08A8D6B7F8DF9F6.text	430E90FCB5FD5E97B08A8D6B7F8DF9F6.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Oreonectes weii Luo & Ling & Cao & Zhou & Huang 2026	<div><p>Oreonectes weii sp. nov.</p><p>Table 1, Figs 3, 4, 5</p><p>Type materials.</p><p>Holotype. • JX 2025112902, 73.0 mm total length, 59.2 mm standard length (SL), collected by Tao Luo on November 25, 2025, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=114.84571&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=28.119871" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 114.84571/lat 28.119871)">in a cave near Liangshan Temple, Meisha Village</a>, Nangang Town, Shanggao County, Jiangxi Province, China (28.11987094°N, 114.84570980°E; ca. 75 m a. s. l.).</p><p>Paratypes. • Nine specimens from the same locality as the holotype: JX 2025112901, JX 2025112903 –112910, 39.0– 68.2 mm SL, collected by Tao Luo, Wen-Qing Ling, and Hai-Lin Cao .</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific epithet “ weii ” is a genitive noun derived from the surname of Academician Fu-Wen Wei (魏辅文), an eminent conservation biologist. The name is given in honor of his outstanding contributions to the study and conservation of biodiversity in China. We suggest the English common name for this species is the “ Wei’s Mountain Loach ”, and its Chinese name is “ Wèi Shì Lǐng Qiū ” (魏氏岭鳅).</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Oreonectes weii sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) coloration pattern present and irregular black spots scattered on the lateral body surface and caudal fin; (2) eyes normal; (3) well-developed posterior chamber of air-bladder; (4) cephalic lateral-line system with 4 + 10 infraorbital canal pores and six preoperculo-mandibular canal pores; (5) 9–10 branched pectoral-fin rays, length 16.0–24.3 % SL; (6) tip of pelvic fin not reaching the anus; (7) caudal fin truncated, with 14 branched caudal-fin rays; (8) 10 inner gill rakers on the first gill arch; (9) tip of maxillary barbel not reaching the posterior margin of the operculum.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Dorsal-fin rays iii- 7, pectoral-fin rays i- 9–10, pelvic-fin rays i- 6, anal-fin rays iii- 5, 14 branched caudal-fin rays, and 10 inner gill rakers on the first gill arch (Table 1).</p><p>Body elongated, cylindrical; maximum body depth located anterior to dorsal-fin origin, depth 12.5–16.4 % SL, tapering gradually from dorsal-fin origin to caudal-fin base. Head short, slightly depressed and flattened, maximum width greater than deepest depth (head width / head depth = 1.2–1.4). Snout round, dorsally flattened and obliquely oriented, length 36.0–46.5 % of head length (HL). Mouth inferior, curved, processus dentiform absent; jaws entirely concealed by fleshy lips; lip surface with distinct wrinkles; lower lip with a median V-shaped notch completely interrupted by longitudinal groove.</p><p>Three pairs of barbels are long, developed; inrostral barbel length 32.5–42.0 % of HL, tips reaching the anterior margin of the eye; outrostral barbel length 50.2–67.5 % of HL, tip extending beyond the posterior margin of the eye. Maxillary barbel length 42.6–52.6 % of HL, tips not extending to the posterior margin of the operculum. Anterior and posterior nostrils distinctly separated, with an interspace of approximately 1.1–1.3 mm. Anterior nostril tube short, with an elongated short barbel-like tip. Eyes normal, diameter of 10.3–16.8 % HL. Gill opening small; gill rakers not developed, and 10 inner gill rakers on the first gill arch (Suppl. material 1: fig. S 2).</p><p>Dorsal fin short, length 15.9–19.2 % of SL; pre-dorsal length 56.8–69.3 % of SL; distal margin elliptical; origin posterior to pelvic-fin origin; tip slightly reaching anal-fin origin. Pectoral fin short, length 16.0–24.3 % of SL; pre-pectoral length 18.9–28.4 % of SL; tip extending slightly beyond the midpoint between pectoral-fin origin and pelvic-fin origin. Pelvic-fin length 13.7–16.8 % of SL, pre-pelvic length 50.2–77.8 % of SL; tips not reaching the anus. Anal fin long, length 14.6–19.8 % of SL; tip not reaching the caudal-fin base. Caudal fin truncated (Fig. 3 H); caudal peduncle length 10.9–17.3 % of SL, without adipose crests along either dorsal or ventral sides.</p><p>Body entirely covered with fine scales, except on head, thorax, and abdomen. Lateral line incomplete, with 10–12 pores, the posterior-most pore not reaching the tip of the pectoral fin. Cephalic lateral-line system, with 7–8 supraorbital, 4 + 10 infraorbital canal pores, five supratemporal canal pores, with 6–7 preoperculo-mandibular canal pores (Fig. 4 C 1 – C 3). Anterior chamber covered by dumbbell-shaped bony capsule, posterior chamber well-developed, and tube connecting anterior and posterior chambers of the air-bladder (Fig. 3 G). Lateral wall of the bony capsule of the swim bladder is membranous and closed posteriorly (Fig. 3 G). Stomach U-shaped; intestine coiled around stomach and proceeding directly to anus (Fig. 4 H).</p><p>Sexual dimorphism.</p><p>In adult males, a genital papilla is present immediately posterior to the anus, with the gonopore opening at the tip of a fleshy prominence (Fig. 3 I). However, it remains unclear whether this structure appears exclusively during the breeding season.</p><p>Coloration.</p><p>In life (Fig. 5 A), the body is overall light yellowish-brown with numerous conspicuous speckles, particularly more prominent above the lateral line. A dark brown stripe extends from the anterior margin of the eye to the outer rostral barbel; the dorsum bears irregular brown blotches. The dorsal and caudal fins exhibit small, irregular dark brown markings at their bases and centers, while the remaining fin rays are transparent. The pupil is black, and the iris, excluding the pupil, appears golden but does not form a continuous ring (Fig. 5 A). Most specimens share similar morphological features with the holotype, except for the male specimen JX 2025112910 (Figs 3 D – F, 5 B), which shows fewer dark speckles on the body, dorsal fin, and middle part of the caudal fin. After preservation in 10 % formalin solution, the body color darkens to brown (Fig. 3).</p><p>Distribution, habitat, and populations.</p><p>Based on recent surveys, the new species Oreonectes weii sp. nov. has only been recorded from its type locality and Dong Village, Dongcun Township, Fenyi County, Jiangxi Province, China (Locality 2). These sites belong to tributaries of the Ganjiang River within the Yangtze River Basin (Fig. 1). The species inhabits natural caves and has not been found in open rivers outside caves. At the type locality, numerous juvenile specimens were observed, suggesting a relatively large population size. However, only a single specimen has been obtained from Locality 2, indicating a potentially vulnerable population status there. Several bat species co-occur in these cave habitats, including Hipposideros armiger, Myotis pilosus, Myotis sp., Pipistrellus sp., Rhinolophus nippon, and R. pusillus . During the winter season, no other aquatic organisms were recorded. The habitat faces considerable pressure from frequent anthropogenic disturbance, and observed seasonal reductions in water volume during winter may represent an additional threat.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/430E90FCB5FD5E97B08A8D6B7F8DF9F6	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Luo, Tao;Ling, Wen-Qing;Cao, Hai-Lin;Zhou, Jiang;Huang, Guang-Ping	Luo, Tao, Ling, Wen-Qing, Cao, Hai-Lin, Zhou, Jiang, Huang, Guang-Ping (2026): A new endemic species Oreonectes weii sp. nov. (Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae) within the Yangtze River Basin and its monsoon-driven evolutionary diversification. Zoosystematics and Evolution 102 (3): 751-765, DOI: 10.3897/zse.102.186155
