''Triplophysa orientalis'' is a species of

stone loach The stone loach (''Barbatula barbatula'') is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus ''Barbatula''. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowin ...

. It is a freshwater fish from the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

and is endemic to China; its distribution includes the upper reaches of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

s, among others. It lives in a wide range of habitats, both

lentic A lake ecosystem or lacustrine ecosystem includes biotic component, biotic (living) plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) physical and chemical interactions. Lake ecosystems are a prime example ...

and

lotic River ecosystems are flowing waters that drain the landscape, and include the Biotic component, biotic (living) interactions amongst plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions of its man ...

. The species is widespread but populations tend to be isolated and show high degree of genetic divergence.

References

orientalis Taxa named by Solomon Herzenstein Endemic fauna of China Freshwater fish of China Fish described in 1888 {{Nemacheilidae-stub