A new species of eel loach without pelvic fins has been described from eastern Borneo by ichthyologists Renny Hadiaty and Maurice Kottelat.
Named Pangio lidi after the Indonesian word for the stalk of the coconut leaf (referring to the slender shape of the fish), the new species is a member of the P. anguillaris group.
It is distinguished from other members of the group in lacking pelvic fins and having fewer vertebrae (59), the origin of the anal fin under the base of the dorsal fin, 7+7 branched caudal-fin rays, unscaled cheeks, and the tube of the anterior nostril developed into a nasal barbel.
Pangio lidi is known from the Mahakam River drainage; its type locality is a small, fast-flowing stream with clear water and a substrate of gravel. The pH of the water is about 5.0and the fish were collected amongst leaf litter.
For more information, see the paper: Hadiaty, RK and M Kottelat (2009) Pangio lidi, a new species of loach from eastern Borneo, Indonesia (Teleostei: Cobitidae). Zootaxa 2171, pp. 65"68.