A new blind loach, Oreonectes elongatus sp nov (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from Guangxi, China

A new loach, Oreonectes elongatus sp. nov. is described based on collections from Mulun Township, Huanjiang County, Guangxi in China. It is distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the following characters: most elongate body (body depth/SL 8.62-10.68%), blind, a forked caudal fin, obvious adipose dorsal crest and ventral crest; entire body naked and de-pigmented. Although the new species has a similar distribution with O. macrolepis, it can be distinguished by scales (absent in O. elongatus vs. present in O. macrolepis), shape of snout (elongate vs. round), the opposite position of the dorsal and pelvic fins origins (behind vs. front). The new species shares the same possession of dorsal and ventral crests, a forked caudal fin, eyeless, naked body and incomplete lateral line with O. translucens, but can be distinguished from the latter by caudal fin crest (more developed and translucent in O. translucens), longer anterior nostril tube and barbel, extreme of pectoral fin reaching 2/3 of the distance between origin of pectoral and pelvic fins, more vertebrae (4 + 38-39 vs. 4 + 32).