A new species of riffle minnow, Alburnoides holciki, from the Hari River basin in Afghanistan and Iran (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae)

Abstract

A new species of riffle minnow, Alburnoides holciki (Cyprinidae), is described from northwestern Afghanistan andnortheastern Iran. It is distinguished from related species by a combination of characters including a well-defined, sharp,scaleless or only slightly scaled ventral keel; a short, slightly pointed snout; a terminal mouth with the tip of the mouthcleft, on a level with the upper half of the pupil; a large eye (orbit width about equal to interorbital width); (46)47–51(55)lateralline scales to posterior margin of hypurals; 2.5–4.2 pharyngeal teeth; usually 8½ branched dorsal-fin rays; usually13–16½ branched anal-fin rays; 40–42, usually 41, total vertebrae; caudal vertebral region longer than abdominal region(most frequent vertebral formulae 20+21, 20+22 and 19+21); and usually 13 or 14 predorsal vertebrae. A comparison withAlburnoides species from rivers of the South Caspian Sea, the northern slope of the Kopetdag Mountains and the Amu Darya basin is provided.