Abstract
As presently recognized, the genus Capoeta includes 24 species, nine of which are known to occur in Iran (Capoeta aculeata, Capoeta capoeta, Capoeta buhsei, Capoeta damascina, Capoeta fusca, Capoeta heratensis, Capoeta mandica, Capoeta saadii and Capoeta trutta) and are distributed in almost all Iranian basins except Sistan and Mashkid. Capoeta coadi sp. n. is a new species from the Karun River, southern Iran, draining into the Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab) which drains into the Persian Gulf. It is distinguished from all other species of Capoeta by the combination of the following characters: elongate and usually cylindrical body; 8–9 branched dorsal-fin rays; last unbranched dorsal-fin ray weakly to moderately ossified and serrated along 1/3–2/3 of its length; scales small; 70-84 in lateral line (total); 12–17 scales between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line; 9-11 scales between anal-fin origin and lateral line; 26–32 circum-peduncular scales; 10–13 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch; 45–47 total vertebrae; one posterior pair of barbels; bright golden-greenish or silvery body coloration in life; length of the longest dorsal-fin ray 15–22% SL; head length 23–26% SL; mouth width 7–10% SL. Capoeta coadi is also distinguished from all other congeners in the Iranian drainages by fixed diagnostic nucleotide substitutions in the mtDNA COI barcode region and cyt b. It is nested in the Capoeta damascina species complex.
Highlights
The Middle East is a transition zone between three major biogeographic units, the Palaearctic, the Afrotropical, and the Oriental realms
Based on morphological and molecular results, C. saadii and C. coadi are distinct species in the Capoeta damascina species complex group formerly known as C. damascina in Iranian water bodies
Based on the previous published data, the Capoeta damascina species complex group diverged from the C. capoeta group about 9.1 MYA in the Tortonian period (Levin et al 2012)
Summary
The Middle East is a transition zone between three major biogeographic units, the Palaearctic, the Afrotropical, and the Oriental realms. It served as an important crossroad of biotic exchange resulting in an outstanding biological diversity of freshwater fishes (Durand et al 2002, Krupp et al 2009). Capoeta Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes 1842 is an example of a cyprinid genus widely spread in the Middle East (Krupp and Schneider 1989). Being found in a wide range of habitats, species of this genus display considerable morphological variability (e.g., scale counts and colour pattern) and the extent of morphological plasticity and genetic variability remain to be determined. Capoeta is considered monophyletic (Krupp 1985, Küçük et al 2009)
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