Three new species of hill stream loach genus <i>Indoreonectes</i> (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) from peninsular India

Fishes of the genus Indoreonectes (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) are widely distributed and endemic to the peninsular India. An integrative taxonomic approach-based study including morphology, geography, genetic distance and mt Cytb genebased molecular phylogenetic analysis resulted in the description of three new species of Indoreonectes namely, I. amrabad sp. nov. from the Eastern Ghats, whereas I. kalsubai sp. nov. and I. radhanagari sp. nov. from the northern Western Ghats. Overall, species diversity of the genus has increased from five species to eight species in peninsular India, wherein six species are known from the Western Ghats and two species from the Eastern Ghats. We also provide DNA analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence to support the distinction of the new species.