Abstract
The genus Luciobarbus Heckel, 1843 is characterized by medium to large fish species occurring in large rivers and downstream zones with slow-moving waters. Remarkably also rheophilic Luciobarbus occur in Morocco, which are of small size and exhibit distinct morphological traits as well as different habitat requirements. These rheophilic species have traditionally been assigned to Luciobarbus nasus (Gunther, 1874) and L. magniatlantis (Pellegrin, 1919), although some authors consider L. magniatlant as a junior synonym of L. nasus. This lack of consensus on the taxonomy of rheophilic barbs is constrained by limited population studies that do not encompass their entire distribution range. Using molecular, morphometric, and osteological data we studied populations of rheophilic barbs of three drainage basins in which they are currently present: Tensift, Moulouya and Oum er Rbia. Our results clearly identified the rheophilic barbs of each basin as different species. The species Luciobarbus magniatlantis is a well-recognized species endemic to Tensift Basin. In contrast, the investigated populations from the Moulouya and Oum er Rbia basins could not be assigned to any previously described species. Consequently, we describe two new Luciobarbus species in the Moulouya and Oum er Rbia basins.
Highlights
The genus Luciobarbus Heckel, 1843 comprises more than 30 species of medium to large size widely distributed along rivers draining into the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black seas (Doadrio, 1994; Kottelat & Freyhof, 2007)
Rheophilic Luciobarbus occur in Morocco, which are of small size and exhibit distinct morphological traits as well as different habitat requirements
These rheophilic species have traditionally been assigned to Luciobarbus nasus (Günther, 1874) and L. magniatlantis (Pellegrin, 1919), some authors consider L. magniatlantis as a junior synonym of L. nasus
Summary
The genus Luciobarbus Heckel, 1843 comprises more than 30 species of medium to large size widely distributed along rivers draining into the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black seas (Doadrio, 1994; Kottelat & Freyhof, 2007). We review the taxonomy of rheophilic Luciobarbus from Morocco, investigating morphology and genetic traits of specimens from Moulouya, Tensift, and Oum er Rbia basins, where they have been previously reported (Almaça, 1970). Genetic distances within Moulouya, Oum er Rbia and Tensift populations of rheophilic barbels ranged from 0.1 to 0.3%.
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