Descriptive osteology of Paracobitis iranica Nalbant and Bianco, 1998 (Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae) from Namak Lake Basin of Iran

Abstract

This study was carried out to describe the osteological structure of Iranian crested loach, Paracobitis iranica, Nalbant and Bianco, 1998 an Iranian endemic loach species. For this purpose, ten specimens of P. Iranica were collected from the Qom River. After clearing and staining, its osteological characteristics were examined and a detailed description of its skeletal structure was provided. The results revealed that P .iranica can be distinguished from other members of the family Nemacheilidae particularly P. hyrcanica (previously considered as P. malapterura) for lacking a sesamoid ossifications, a triangular-shaped lateral ethmoid, no connection between the sphenotic and epiotic, having six hypurals, having a bony bridge between parietal and pterotic, wider fontanel, absence of the basbrancial-4.

Keywords

• Fish skeleton
• Nemacheilidae
• Loaches
• Iran.

References

1. Azimi H., Mousavi-Sabet H., Eagderi S. 2015a. Osteology of Hircanian Crested Loach, Paracobitis hircanica (Pisces, Nemacheilidae). Our Nature 13(1): 8-18.
2. Azimi H., Mousavi-Sabet H., Eagderi S. 2015a. Osteological characteristics of Paraschistura nielseni (Nalbant & Bianco, 1998) (Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae). Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 2(3): 155-164.
3. Bănărescu P., Nalbant T. 1964. Süßwasserfische der Türkei. 2. Teil Cobitidae. Mitteilungen aus dem hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 61: 159-201.
4. Bănărescu P., Nalbant T. 1995. A generical classification of Nemacheilinae with description of two new genera (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitidae). Travaux du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa, Bucurešti, 35: 429-496. Bleeker P. 1863. Sur les genres de la famille des Cobitioïdes. Nederlands Tijdschrift van Dierkunde, 1: 361-368. Coad B.W. 2016. Fresh water fishes of Iran. Retrieved from http://www.briancoad.com. 2 January 2016.
5. Esmaeili H.R., Sayyadzadeh G., Özulug M., Geiger M., Freyhof J. 2014. Three new species of Turcinoemacheilus from Iran and Turkey (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24(3): 257-273.
6. Freyhof J., Sayyadzadeh G., Esmaeili H.R., Geiger M. 2014. Review of the crested loaches of the genus Paracobitis from Iran and Iraq with the description of four new species (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25: 11-38.
7. Freyhof J., Sayyadzadeh G., Esmaeili H.R., Geiger M. 2015. Review of the genus Paraschistura from Iran with description of six new species (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 26(1): 1-48.
8. Golzarianpor A., Abdoli A., Freyhof J. 2011. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, a new loach from Karkheh River drainage, Iran (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 22: 201-208.

9. Jalili P., Eagderi S., Nikmehr N., Keivany Y. 2015. Descriptive osteology of Barbus cyri (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from southern Caspian Sea basin Iran. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology, 2: 105-112.
10. Jouladeh-Roudbar A., Vatandoust S., Eagderi S., Jafari-Kenari S., Mousavi-Sabet H. 2015. Freshwater fishes of Iran; an updated checklist. AACL Bioflux, 8(6): 855-909.
11. Kamangar B., Prokofiev A., Ghaderi E., Nalbant T. 2014. Stone loaches of Choman River system, Kurdistan, Iran (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Nemacheilidae). Zootaxa, 3755(1): 33-61.
12. Kottelat M. 1990. Indochinese nemacheilines. A revision of nemacheiline loaches (Pisces: Cypriniformes) of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and southern Viet Nam. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München. 262 p.
13. Min R., Chen X.Y., Yang J.X. 2010. Paracobitis nanpanjiangensis, a new loach (Balitoridae: Nemacheilinae) from Yunnan, China. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 87: 199-204.
14. Mousavi-Sabet H., Sayyadzadeh G., Esmaeili H.R., Eagderi S., Patimar R., Freyhof J. 2015. Paracobitis hircanica, a new crested loach from the southern Caspian Sea basin (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25: 339-346.
15. Nalbant T., Bianco P. 1998. The loaches of Iran and adjacent regions with description of six new species (Cobitoidea). Italian Journal of Zoology, 65: 109-123.
16. Nguyen V.H. 2005. Freshwater fishes of Vietnam. v. 2. 760 p.
17. Prokofiev A.M. 2004. Osteology and Relationships between Loaches of the Genus Dzihunia (Osteichthyes, Balitoridae). Zoologicheskij Zhurnal, 83: 826-838.
18. Prokofiev A.M. 2009. Problems of the classification and phylogeny of Nemacheiline loaches of the group lacking the preethmoid I (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae: Nemacheilinae). Journal of Ichthyology, 49: 874-898.
19. Prokofiev A.M. 2010. Morphological classification of loaches (Nemacheilinae). Journal of Ichthyology, 50: 827-913.
20. Sawada Y. 1982. Phylogeny and zoogeography of the superfamily Cobitoidea (Cyprinoidei, Cypriniformes). Memoirs of the Faculty of Fisheries of Hokkaido University, 28: 65-223.
21. Taylor W.R., Van Dyke G.C. 1985. Revised procedures for staining and clearing small fishes and other vertebrates for bone and cartilage study. Cybium, 9: 107-119.