Abstract
A new species of tooth-carp, Aphanius mesopotamicus (Cyprinodontidae), is described from southern Mesopotamia in Iran and Iraq. It is distinguished from related species by pigmentation (males have clear margins to the unpaired fins, no bars on the caudal fin and 10–15 clearly defined flank bars; females bear irregular blotches or spots on the flank), distribution, and a suite of morphometric and meristic characters in multivariate space (pectoral fin rays, caudal peduncle length, scales to pelvic fin and postorbital length in males and pectoral fin rays, scales to dorsal fin, predorsal length and total scales in females). The description is based on museum specimens and there have been no recent collections of the new taxon.
Highlights
The taxon Aphanius sophiae (Heckel 1849) has been widely used as the name of toothcarps in various basins in southern Iran and Iraq, and even the Middle East generally
A set of 14 meristic counts summarised in Table 1 and of 22 standardized measurements (Table 2) were collected for all specimens
Paratypes: 37 (34 used in analyses, smallest male, smallest female and one deformed female not used in analyses), 14 males 17.1–23.9 mm SL and 23 females 14.6-29.1 mm SL, same locality as above (CMNFI 1979-0360B). 6(4 used in analyses, smallest of each sex not used in analyses), 3 males 17.1–19.9 mm SL and 3 females 15.1-20.5 mm SL, Iran, Khuzestan, Karkheh River branch at Abdolkhan, 31°52'30"N, 48°20'30"E, 27 January 1978, B
Summary
The taxon Aphanius sophiae (Heckel 1849) has been widely used as the name of toothcarps in various basins in southern Iran and Iraq, and even the Middle East generally. This species is restricted to the endorheic Kor River basin north of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province, Iran (Coad 1996).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
