BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- A team of Chinese zoologists has discovered a new species of loach in the Chaobai River in Beijing and, for the first time, named this new fish using the pinyin "Beijing." The study was recently published in the Zoosystematics and Evolution.

The Cobitis beijingensis, which was shown in the study, measures only about 5 centimeters in length and has a body covered with yellow and black patterns. It was collected by the research team from the Chaobai River in Shilipu Township, northeast Beijing's Miyun District, Beijing Daily reported on Friday.

According to the study, researchers have confirmed it as a newly discovered fish species through various research methods such as morphology and molecular phylogenetics. The last new fish species in Beijing was discovered in 1981.

The study revealed that the Cobitis beijingensis differs from its close relative, the spotted loach, which also inhabits the Beijing area but prefers mountainous streams. Instead, the Cobitis beijingensis favors slow-moving or still waters near mountainous regions.

Zhao Yahui, the team leader and a senior researcher at the Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the Cobitis beijingensis can only be found in clear waters with slow flow, sandy or muddy bottoms, and abundant aquatic plants in water sections such as the Huaisha River and Huaijiu River near the Huairou Reservoir, as well as shallow areas of the Chaobai River.

He added that naming the Cobitis beijingensis marks the first time the pinyin form "Beijing" has been used for a fish species rather than "Peking."

"We hope this species will become a symbol of Beijing's freshwater fish. While the public focuses on the new species, other native fish can also receive protection," Zhao said.

When reviewing historical fish specimens in the National Animal Collection Resource Center, the team found records of this fish caught between the 1920s and 1980s. At those times, however, it was not recognized as a new fish species. This confirms that the species is naturally distributed in the Beijing area and can be found in the region's five major water systems.

However, due to urban development and expansion, the Cobitis beijingensis became rare after 1980, especially between 2000 and 2010, when almost no specimens were recorded.

Thanks to recent efforts to improve the ecological environment, Beijing's natural water bodies have been restored, and water resource utilization has been more sustainable, reducing water pollution. Through continuous fish stocking activities, fish populations have improved, and overfishing has become a thing of the past.

"Only by protecting the microhabitats of the Cobitis beijingensis can their population recover, thus giving us the opportunity to collect key specimens. This reflects the improved fish diversity in Beijing," Zhao said.

Field surveys conducted around 2020 showed that the number of native fish species in Beijing has gradually increased from about 40 before 2010 to around 60.

According to data from Beijing's water resources department, since 2014, when the South-to-North Water Diversion Project began supplying water to the city, coupled with continuous ecological water replenishment, the number of rivers with flowing waters has increased from 96 in 2014 to 122 in 2023, and the total length of waterways has grown from 2,352 km to 2,887 km.

In 2023, the city's water resources department monitored 85 species of aquatic plants and 73 species of fish, a year-on-year increase of two aquatic plant species and 12 fish species, respectively. Enditem

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