Zacco tiaoxiensis, a new species of fish which was recently discovered by researchers from Huzhou's Deqing county. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

A new species of fish was recently identified by researchers from Huzhou's Deqing county, according to local media reports.

The Deqing wildlife resource background research team discovered a group of unknown fish during a recent field inspection and identified them as a new species following morphological comparison and genetic phylogenetic analysis that was done in partnership with Zhejiang Monitoring Center of Forest Resources and Shanghai Ocean University.

The new species, with a royal blue metallic sheen, belongs to the Opsariichthyinae genus, which has a history that dates back 1,500 years. 

The new species was named Zacco tiaoxiensis - part of its name comes from Tiaoxi River where they were discovered. It is also the first species named after the river.

Tiaoxi's gentle water flow and low volumes of pebble or gravel at its bottom has made the river an ideal habitant for the fish, experts said.

The fish was also found in Tiaoxi's section in Yuhang district, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang, recently.