Taxonomy of rheophilic <em>Luciobarbus</em> Heckel, 1842 (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from Morocco with the description of two new species

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 (Günther, 1874) and L. magniatlantis (Pellegrin, 1919), although some authors consider L. magniatlantis 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.

Fish hosts of the freshwater mussel Unio foucauldianus Pallary, 1936

“…For L. gibbosus and G. holbrooki no fully transformed juveniles were observed despite the fact that both non-native fish species were infested with glochidia (until day 7 PI for L. gibbosus and day 5 PI for G. holbrooki). (Azeroual, 2003;Casal-López, Perea, Yahyaoui, & Doadrio, 2015;Doadrio, Casal-López, Perea, & Yahyaoui, 2016).…”

Consideraciones taxonómicas sobre <em>Barbus moulouyensis</em> Pellegrin, 1924 (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) con la descripción de una especie nueva de <em>Luciobarbus</em> Heckel, 1843 de Marruecos

“…Our study of "Barbus" moulouyensis was based on populations of different localities along Moulouya River and its tributaries including the Terra Typica of "Barbus" moulouyensis in the Za River (Oued el Haï) in Guefait. The individuals collected in Moulouya Basin were identified as hexaploid Carasobarbus or tetraploid Luciobarbus species following the morphological traits established in taxonomic works (Doadrio, 1990;Borkenhagen & Krupp, 2013;Doadrio et al, 2016) and lately confirmed by the sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.…”

“…Reophilic and limnetic barbels can be recognized for the hardness of the DFR. Reophilic barbels have a stronger DFR than limnetic kind and this can be measured (Doadrio et al, 2016). Within limnetic barbels L. rifensis and L. maghrebensis had denticulations in practically all the length of the DFR, in contrast to the species L. setivimensis, L. ksibi and the population of Moulouya Basin that had denticulations only in 2/3 of the length of DFR.…”

“…In Morocco, the genera Luciobarbus, Carasobarbus and the enigmatic "Barbus" reinii are only present (Beshera et al, 2016). The genus Luciobarbus is composed of two different group of species: reophilic species of small body size and limnetic species of medium-large size (Doadrio, 1990;Doadrio et al, 2016). The genus Carasobarbus in Morocco is constituted by C. fritschii (Günther, 1874), a cosmopolitan species of small body size, and C. harterti (Günther, 1901), a species of large body size that inhabit only the large basins of the Atlantic slope from Morocco (Borkenhagen & Krupp, 2013).…”

“…Therefore, none of these varieties were found in the Moulouya River Basin. Currently, the fish fauna from Tensift and Oum er Rbia basins is considered to be comprised by the following barbel species: Luciobarbus magniatlantis (Pellegrin, 1919); Luciobarbus zayanensis Doadrio, Casal-López and Yahyaoui, 2016;Luciobarbus ksibii (Boulanger, 1905); Carasobarbus fritschii (Günther, 1874) and Carasobarbus harterti (Günther, 1901) (Borkenhagen & Krupp, 2013;Geiger et al, 2014;Doadrio et al, 2016). On the basis of three individuals, one of each variety, the differences found between typical "Barbus" moulouyensis from Moulouya Basin and its varieties "Barbus" moulouyensis var.…”