Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2019) 7(4): 239-244 ISSN: 2322-5270; P-ISSN: 2383-0956 Journal homepage: www.ij-aquaticbiology.com © 2019 Iranian Society of Ichthyology Original Article Barbus urmianus a new species from Urmia Lake basin, Iran (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) Soheil Eagderi*1, Nasrin Nikmehr1, Erdogan Çiçek2, Hamid Reza Esmaeili3, Saber Vatandoust4, Hamed Mousavi-Sabet5 1Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, Nevsehir Hacı Bektas Veli University, Nevsehir, Turkey. 3Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory, Zoology Section, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. 4Department of Fisheries, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Babol, Iran. 5Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, Guilan, Iran. Article history: Received 7 July 2019 Accepted 21 August 2019 Available online 2 5 August 2019 Keywords: Taxonomy, Freshwater, Middle East, Urmia barb, Orumiyeh, Cypriniformes. Zoobank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E28A975C-2CAC-4AB5-90B9-3CB0501D8A2F urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5E7FC771-15EE-4B4B-9D3A-05EA1BD26D47 Abstract: Barbus urmianus from the Mahabad-Chai River in Urmia Lake basin, is distinguished from its congeners in the B. lacerta group by a well-developed middle pad of the lower lip, a shorter postdorsal length (25.2–42.0 vs. 46.4–60.7% SL), long anal fin (11.0–23.0 vs. 6.0–10.4% SL), short dorsal-fin base (9.2–15.6 vs. 16.1–22.6% SL), less scales in the caudal peduncle (14–23 vs. 25–35), and 64–85 scales on the lateral line (vs. 52–70). Introduction The Barbus populations of the southern Caspian Sea, Lake Namak, and Urmia (Orumiyeh) Lake Basins, Euphrates and Tigris drainages, and the Qweik endorheic basin in Syria have been previously considered as B. lacerta Heckel, 1843 (Berg, 1949; Coad, 1995; Khaefi et al., 2017a; Çiçek et al., 2018). Naseka and Bogutskaya (2009) recognized B. cyri De Filippi, 1865 as a valid species in the Caspian Sea basin. Two other species, viz. B. miliaris De Filippi, 1863, a nominal species found in the Lake Namak basin and B. karunensis, Khaefi, Esmaeili, Geiger & Eagderi, 2017 from the Karun River drainage are found in the Iranian inland waters (Radkhah and Eagderi, 2015; Jalili et al., 2015; Ghasemi et al., 2015; Khaefi et al., 2017a, b; Esmaeili et al., 2018). Barbus cyri is also known from the Urmia Lake basin (Khaefi et al., 2017b). A recent study on the ichthyofauna of the Urmia Lake basin revealed that the Barbus population from the Mahabad-Chai River represents an undescribed species. Hence herein, we describe it as Barbus urmianus sp. nov. *Correspondence: soheil.eagderi@ut.ac.ir DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/ijab.v7i4.725 E-mail: soheil.eagderi@ut.ac.ir Materials and Methods After anesthesia, the collected fishes were fixed in 10% buffered formaldehyde. Measurements were made with a dial caliper and recorded to the nearest 0.1 mm. All measurements were made point to point never by projections. Methods for counts and measurements follow Kottelat and Freyhof (2007). Standard length (SL) is measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the hypural complex. The length of the caudal peduncle is measured from behind the base of the last anal-fin ray to the end of the hypural complex, at mid-height of the caudal-fin base. The width of the upper lip is measured ventrally at the anterior tip of the lip. The scales in the lateral line are counted as total scales from the first scale on flank to the last scale on the caudal-fin base. The last two branched rays articulating on a single pterygiophore in the dorsal and anal fins are counted as "1½". Abbreviations used: SL, standard length; HL, lateral head length; IMNRF-UT, Ichthyological Museum of Natural Resources Faculty, University of Tehran; ZM- CBSU, Zoological Museum of Shiraz University, 240 Eagderi et al./ Barbus urmianus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) a new species from Iran Collection of Biology Department, Shiraz; VMFC, Vatandoust and Mousavi-Sabet Fish collection, Tehran. Results Barbus urmianus, new species (Figs. 1-4, Table 1) Holotype: IMNRF-UT-1079-8, 117.7 mm SL; Iran: Western Azerbaijan prov.: Mahabad-Chai River at Miriseh Village, Beytas City, 36°29'55.14"N 45°33'54.26"E. Paratypes: IMNRF-UT-1079-1-15, 14, 101.1–187.6 mm SL; same data as holotype. VMFC B1388, 30, 95.0-184.2 mm SL; same data as holotype. Diagnosis: Barbus urmianus sp. nov. is distinguished from the other species of the B. lacerta group in Iran by having short postdorsal length (25.2–42.0% SL vs. 50.5–53.2% SL in B. karunensis; 52.3–58.7% SL in B. miliaris; 46.4–59.1% SL in B. lacerta; and 47.8– 60.7% SL in B. cyri), short dorsal-fin base (9.2–15.6% SL vs. 16.8–21.8% SL in B. karunensis; 18.4–22.6% SL in B. miliaris; 16.2-21.8% SL in B. lacerta; and 16.1–21.2% SL in B. cyri), long anal fin (11.0–23.0% SL vs. 7.1-8.6% SL in B. karunensis; 6.8–9.1% SL Figure 1. Live specimen of Barbus urmianus sp. nov., VMFC B1388, paratype, 130.1 mm SL, Iran: Western Azerbaijan prov.: Mahabad-Chai River at Miriseh village, Beytas Town, Urmia lake Basin. Figure 2. Barbus urmianus sp. nov., IMNRF-UT-1079-8, holotype, 117.7 mm SL, Iran: Western Azerbaijan prov.: Mahabad-Chai River at Miriseh village, Beytas Town, Urmia lake Basin. 241 Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2019) 7(4): 239-244 in B. miliaris; 6.0–9.1% SL in B. lacerta; and 6.1– 10.4% SL in B. cyri), and less scale in caudal peduncle (14–23 vs. 26–29 in B. karunensis; 28–35 in B. miliaris; 25–32 in B. lacerta; and 28–33 in B. cyri). It is also discriminated from the other species of the B. lacerta group except B. karunensis by having a well-developed middle pad of lower lip (vs. poorly developed or absent). Furthermore, B. urmianus is distinguished from B. karunensis by having 64–85 (mean 79.6) scales in lateral line (vs. 60–70 (63.1)), more scales below lateral line (12–15 vs. 9–11), less scales of predorsal (25–31 vs. 33–42), maxillary Table 1. Morphometric and meristic data of Barbus urmianus sp. nov. (IMNRF-UT-1079-8, holotype; IMNRF-UT-1079-1-15, 15 paratypes, Iran: Western Azerbaijan prov.: Miriseh village at Beytas Town, Mahabad-Chai River, Urmia Lake Basin). Barbus urmianus sp. nov. Holotype Paratypes min max mean SD Total length (mm) 121.7 101.3 187.6 135.5 23.9 In percent of standard length Head length 22.0 16.9 27.6 24.5 2.4 Pre orbital distance 8.8 6.7 12.8 10.6 1.4 Post orbital distance 9.7 7.5 12.7 11.3 1.2 Inter orbital distance 3.5 2.7 5.8 3.9 0.7 Predorsal length 46.0 35.4 57.4 51.0 4.9 Postdorsal length 32.8 25.2 42.0 35.6 4.7 Base of dorsal-fin length 11.9 9.2 15.6 13.3 1.6 Dorsal-fin length 18.2 14.0 21.8 18.0 2.2 Base of anal-fin length 6.7 5.2 12.1 8.3 1.6 Anal-fin length 14.4 11.0 23.0 17.7 3.2 Preanal length 64.1 49.3 76.1 69.5 8.6 Pectoral-fin length 15.2 11.7 19.7 17.1 2.0 Pelvic-fin length 14.5 11.2 17.7 14.9 1.4 Minimum body depth 8.8 6.8 20.5 10.7 3.0 Maximum body depth 16.9 13.0 22.2 18.9 2.1 Distance between pectoral and Anal-fin 42.3 32.5 54.6 49.3 5.1 Distance between pectoral and pelvic-fin 23.9 18.4 30.3 26.9 2.9 Distance between pelvic and anal-fin 22.3 17.1 26.9 23.4 2.4 Rostral barbel 3.1 2.4 5.8 4.1 0.8 Maxillary barbel 5.3 4.1 7.6 6.0 0.9 In percent of head length Head depth 58.3 51.5 63.7 57.0 3.4 Pre orbital distance 43.6 38.5 49.4 43.9 2.8 Post orbital distance 48.6 41.8 49.6 45.2 2.2 Inter orbital width 40.5 34.2 65.9 42.1 7.2 Eye diameter 13.5 11.4 17.1 13.8 1.5 Maximum body depth 76.8 59.4 87.3 77.3 6.1 Length of caudal fin 74.1 71.1 100.9 80.8 8.6 Mouth width 51.7 27.2 51.7 32.1 7.2 Meristic data Dorsal fin unbranched rays 3 2 4 2.9 0.6 Dorsal fin branched rays 7 7½ 10½ 7.8 0.9 Pectoral fin rays 15 12 16 14.9 1.0 Pelvic fin rays 9 6 10 8.3 1.2 Anal fin unbranched rays 2 2 3 2.1 0.3 Anal fin branched rays 7 5½ 7½ 5.5 0.8 Lateral line scales 79 64 85 79.6 6.3 Caudal peduncle scales 19 14 23 19.5 2.4 Scales above lateral line 15 15 18 16.1 1.0 Scales below lateral line 12 12 15 13.2 1.2 Predorsal scales 26 25 31 27.5 1.9 Gill rakers 7 6 9 7.2 0.9 242 Eagderi et al./ Barbus urmianus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) a new species from Iran barbels reaching beyond middle of eye (vs. not reaching), tip of anal fin reaching beyond middle of distance between base of last anal-fin ray and lower caudal-fin origin when pressed to body (vs. not reaching). Barbus urmianus sp. nov. is also distinguished from B. cyri by having 64-85 (mean 79.6) scales in lateral line (vs. 52–69 (59.4)) and more scales below lateral line (12–15 vs. 9–13). In addition, B. urmianus sp. nov. is distinguished from B. lacerta by having 64–85 (mean 79.6) scales on lateral line (vs. 56–7 (62.9)) and less scales of predorsal (25–31 vs. 35–48). Barbus urmianus sp. nov. is also distinguished from B. miliaris by having less scales of predorsal (25–31 vs. 37–45) and having wider mouth (17.2–51.7 vs. 12.9– 27.2% HL). Description: For general appearance see Figures 1–3; mouth structure Figure 4 and morphometric and meristic data are provided in Table 1. Body elongate and cylindrical, greatest body depth somewhat before dorsal-fin origin decreasing towards middle of caudal Figure 3. Barbus urmianus sp. nov., IMNRF-UT-1079-3, 5, 11, paratypes, a. 124.0 mm SL, b. 138.2 mm SL, c. 113.4 mm SL. Iran: Western Azerbaijan prov.: Mahabad-Chai at Miriseh village, Beytas Town, Urmia lake Basin. Figure 4. Ventral side of head of Barbus urmianus sp. nov. 243 Int. J. Aquat. Biol. (2019) 7(4): 239-244 peduncle, predorsal body profile convex, ventral profile slightly convex. Head deep tapering towards rounded, blunt snout. Dorsal profile of head slightly convex, with no marked hump between head and body. Caudal peduncle 1.7–2.9 times longer than deep. Triangular and pointed axillary scale at pelvic- fin base. Pelvic-fin origin below vertical of last unbranched dorsal-fin ray. Caudal fin forked. Posterior dorsal- and anal-fin margins straight or slightly concave. Tip of anal fin, when pressed to body, passing middle of caudal peduncle. Pectoral fin reaching approximately 55–75% distance from pectoral-fin origin to pelvic-fin origin. Pelvic fin not reaching anus. Snout 48–72% of body depth at dorsal- fin origin. Width of upper lip 4.5–7.5% HL. Lower lip thicker than upper lip, with a well-developed median pad (Fig. 4). Rostral barbel short, not reaching nostril; maxillary barbel 27–45% HL, reaching beyond the middle of the eye. Largest known individual 187 mm SL. Dorsal fin with 2–4 (mode 3) unbranched rays and 7½–10½ branched rays, 50–65% of posterior margin of last unbranched dorsal-fin ray covered with denticles. Anal fin with 2–3 (mode 2) unbranched and 5½–7½ branched rays. Pectoral fin with 12–16 (mode 15) rays. Pelvic fin with 6–10 (mode 9) rays. Lateral line with 64–85 (mean 79.6) scales. Scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line 15–18 (mode 16). Scale rows between pelvic-fin origin and lateral line 12–15 (mode 12). Caudal peduncle scale 15–23 (mode 21). Predorsal scales 25–31 (mode 28) and 6–9 (mode 7) gill rakers on first gill arch. Pharyngeal teeth 1,4-4,1. Coloration: In live specimens: Body and head yellow to brown, flanks brown, lighter below lateral line; numerous small, irregular dark-brown spots and small blotches on dorsum and flanks, lower number of irregular dark-brown spots in fins; dorsal, pectoral and ventral fins brownish with fade orange colour anteriorly, caudal and anal fins brownish; belly yellowish white; barbell yellowish. In preservation: Body and head brown with flanks darker above lateral line; belly light brown without spots; dark brown irregular spots and small botches scattered on entire body; fins cream to yellowish; barbels light brown. Distribution: Barbus urmianus is known from the Mahabad-Chai River, Urmia Lake Basin, Iran (Fig. 5). Etymology: The species is named for the Urmia Lake basin where the type materials were collected. Figure 5. Mahabad-Chai River at Miriseh village, Urmia lake Basin, type locality of Barbus urmianus sp. nov.. 244 Eagderi et al./ Barbus urmianus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) a new species from Iran Material examined: All from Iran. Barbus miliaris: IMNRF-UT-1082, 2, 110.8–119.7 mm SL; Iran: Tehran prov.: Nem River at Harandeh village, Dashte- e Kavir Basin, 35°43´20.9˝N 52°39´18.4˝E. — ZM- CBSU G1101, 24, 70–97 mm SL; Markazi prov.: Qara Chai (Gharehchai) River, at Jalayer, 34°53'13.9"N 50°02'10.9"E. Barbus karunensis: ZM-CBSU G1038, 12, 47.0– 121.0 mm SL; Iran: Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad prov.: Bashar River at Talegah village 10 km north of Yasuj City, 30°47'27.5"N 51°25'13.3"E. Barbus lacerta: IMNRF-UT-1080, 10, 67.7–97.8 mm SL; Iran: Kurdistan prov.: Sefidbarg (Leyleh) River Sefid-Barg village, Tigris River drainage, 34°51´75.7˝N 46°20´17.6˝E. — ZM-CBSU D111, 8, 57–139 mm SL; Iran: Lorestan prov.: Karkheh River at Kashkanrud 25 km west of Khoramabad, 33°35'14"N 47°52'55"E. — ZM-CBSU G964, 4, 104– 136 mm SL. Iran: Kermanshah prov.: Leyleh River at Shervineh west of Javanrud, 34°52'29"N 46°21'06"E. Barbus cyri: MNRF-UT-1081, 15, 44.0–94.5 mm SL; Iran: Guilan prov.: Sefid River at, Rostam-Abad, Caspian Sea Basin. — ZM-CBSU G1125, 24, 69–127 mm SL. Iran: Mazandaran prov.: Tajan River at Sari, 36°12'13.8"N 53°05'10.7"E. Acknowledgments We are pleased to thank University of Tehran for financial support. References Berg L.S. 1949. Freshwater fishes of Iran and adjacent countries. Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta Akademii Nauk SSSR, 8: 783-858. Çiçek E., Fricke R., Sungur S., Eagderi S. 2018. Endemic freshwater fishes of Turkey. FishTaxa, 3(4): 1-39. Coad B.W. 1995. 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