A new species of algae-scraping cyprinid of the genus Capoeta Valenciennes, 1842 is described from the Kheyroud River, located in the southern part of the Caspian Sea basin in Iran. The species differs from other members of this genus by a combination of the following characters: one pair of barbels; predorsal length equal to postdorsal length; maxillary barbel slightly smaller than eye’s horizontal diameter and reach to posterior margin of orbit; intranasal length slightly shorter than snout length; lateral line with 46–54 scales; 7–9 scales between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line, and 6–7 scales between anal-fin origin and lateral line.
The molecular status of nine species of the genus Alburnoides from different river drainages in Iran and additionally by seven species from Europe was assessed. mtDNA COI gene sequences from freshly collected specimens and available NCBI data revealed four major phylogenetic lineages. Based on the results, a distinct taxon from the Cheshmeh Ali (Ali Spring), a Damghan River tributary in the endorheic Dasht-e Kavir basin, northern Iran, which is the closest sister to Alburnoides
namaki (Namak Lake basin) + Alburnoides
coadi (Nam River in the endorheic Dasht-e Kavir basin) is considered as a new species, Alburnoides
damghani
sp. n. It is distinguished from other Alburnoides species in Iran by a combination of character states including: a weakly-developed, variably-scaled, ventral keel from completely scaleless to completely scaled, a short snout with the tip of the mouth cleft on a level with the lower margin of the pupil or slightly lower, a small eye (eye horizontal diameter slightly to markedly less than interorbital width), commonly 8½ branched dorsal-fin rays, commonly 11−12½ branched anal-fin rays, 40−46(47) total lateral-line scales, 2.5–4.2 or 2.5–4.1 pharyngeal teeth, gill rakers short and widely spaced, 6−8 in total, 39−41 (commonly 40), total vertebrae, (19)20(21) abdominal vertebrae, 19−21 (most commonly 20) caudal vertebrae, abdominal vertebral region most commonly equal to or longer than caudal region, and most common vertebral formulae 20+20 and 21+19.
The validity of C. keyvani and C. faridpaki is assessed based on morphological and molecular (COI) data from fishes collected from the type localities of both species. No diagnostic character was found to distinguish both species. Therefore, we treat C. keyvani as a junior synonym of C. faridpaki.
Alburnoides recepi was described from the stream Merzimen, a tributary of the Euphrates in Turkey. Morphometric, meristic and molecular (Cyt b) characters of A. recepi are largely overlapping or even identical with those of Alburnus caeruleus, a species known from the Qweik, Euphrates and Tigris River drainages. Alburnoides recepi is treated as a synonym of A. caeruleus.
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