This family of loaches, sometimes called sting-loaches, is found in Eurasia and Morocco and has about 26 genera with about 177 species (Berra, 2001; Nelson, 2006). Berra (2001) does not indicate the more southern distribution of this genus in Khuzestan and Fars provinces of Iran. Four species are recorded from Iran.

Anonymous (1988a) places Cobitidae on the Official List of Family-Group Names in Zoology (rather than the grammatically correct but unused Cobitididae) and Cobitis taenia is designated as the type species for the genus Cobitis (see also Kottelat (1986) for further information).

The body form is fusiform to rounded or elongate; the mouth is subterminal and has 3-6 pairs of barbels; the mental lobes of the lower lip have two parts: the anterior which is usually short and sometimes divided into lobules, and the posterior which is flap-like and longer and sometimes divided into 2 or more barbel-like extensions; there is 1 row of pharyngeal teeth; and there is an erectile spine in a groove below the eye (anterior in a non-Iranian genus). Iranian species have one pair of rostral barbels and a rounded or slightly emarginate caudal fin and belong to the subfamily Cobitinae. Menon (1992) considers that structural details of the bony covering of the swimbladder and the nature of the scales are only of use at the generic level. Lip structures, fin positions relative to one another and secondary sexual characteristics in males are important characters in differentiating species in India. Economidis and Nalbant (1996) discuss characters used in the study of these fishes and consider scales to be characteristic of each species along with colour pattern, sexual dimorphism, suborbital spine morphology, barbel and mental lobe morphology, and others. Black spots at the caudal fin base and four longitudinal pigment zones on the flank (Z1-4 or Gambetta's zones 1-4) are important in distinguishing and describing species. Males have 1-2 laminar projections on the dorsal surface of the anterior pectoral fin rays known as the laminae circularis or Canestrini's scales. Hybrid lineages are known, produced by gynogenesis and are nearly all-female. Males of bisexual lineages are sperm donors but the sperm only induces egg development and contributes no genetic material. The all-female lineages are therefore sperm parasites and have to occur in sympatry with one of the parental species in a hybrid complex. As a result, hybridogenous individuals in the complex are difficult to distinguish from the bisexual parent species on external characters. An unbalanced sex ratio in a population with more females than males is usually evidence that hybridogenous lineages are present (Kottelat and Freyhof, 2007). Maximum size is about 40 cm but most are much smaller.

The origins of this group of loaches may well lie at the end of the Eocene or in the early Oligocene in South China, spreading along a northern route through Europe and Siberia during the Oligocene-Miocene-Pliocene period and then later southwards into Southwest Asia (Sawada, 1982; Menon, 1987; 1992; Bănărescu and Nalbant, 1998; Šlechtová et al., 2008; Tang et al., 2008). A early Oligocene route also existed between the Anatolian landmass and Central Asia (Tang et al., 2008) and cobitids may have invaded the Euro-Mediterranean zoogeographic subregion at least five times independently based on cytochrome b data.

Some members of this family can live in oxygen-poor waters. They take in air at the surface, and pass it through the intestine where the mucosa absorbs the oxygen and carbon dioxide waste is released through the vent. As a consequence, they may be very sensitive to air pressure changes and become restless when it falls and can be used to predict the weather. Foods are mostly small insects, worms and crustaceans detected by the aid of the barbels on the habitat bottom. Some eat algal films or mats. Most species bury themselves in sand or mud during the day, emerging to feed at night. Movement is by undulations of the body, particularly marked in the more elongate species. A consequence of this form of movement is a reduction in fin size and variation. Reproduction involves the male chasing the female, entering vegetation and wrapping around the female as eggs are released and fertilised. Eggs swell and reach as large as 3.5 mm in diameter and as a result are retained in the vegetation although they are not adhesive.

A number of species are popular aquarium fishes, including the coolie or kuhli loaches and the weatherfish. None of the Iranian fishes are used in this fashion but they can be quite colourful. Cobitis taenia is a potential fishing bait for predatory fishes such as Sander lucioperca and has been examined experimentally for this purpose in Turkey (Kuşat et al., 1995).

Genus Cobitis
Linnaeus, 1758

These fishes are found in Europe, North Africa and Asia. There are 2 species in Iran. They are known generally as سگ ماهي (sag mahi meaning dog fish) in Farsi, the equivalent of loach in English. This name is not repeated under each species account. Also called لوچ (= louch in Farsi, from loach).

This genus is characterised by an elongate and compressed body, a usually bifid, erectile spine below the eye (sometimes hidden under the skin), 3 pairs of short barbels (4 at the snout tip and 2 at the mouth corners), minute scales cover the body (as many as 200 but they are seldom counted accurately), lateral line faint or indistinct, dorsal and anal fins small, caudal fin rounded or truncate, and swimbladder in a bony capsule with a free portion visible. Males have bony extensions of their pectoral fin rays, known as lamina circularis or scale of Canestrini, and no swellings of their body sides.

Polyploid unisexual, bisexual-unisexual complexes and gynogenetic forms of Cobitis exist in the basins of the Baltic, Black, Caspian and Mediterranean seas (Vasil'ev and Vasil'eva, 1996; Kottelat, 1997; Vasil'eva and Vasil'ev, 1998; Vasil'ev et al., 1999; Bohlen, 2001). The species are morpohologically undifferentiated and therefore require detailed study to resolve taxonomic and systematic problems. The composition of Iranian species has not been investigated.

The earliest fossil record is from the middle Miocene about 15MYA with divergence of Sabanejewia and Cobitis at 12-13MYA (Ludwig et al., 2001).

These loaches often bury themselves in mud to overwinter or escape predators. The spine under the eye when erected is an anti-predator device, discouraging swallowing by other fishes and birds. The fish is said to actively swing the head from side to side to prick predators.

Cobitis linea
(Heckel, 1849)

Common names

sagmahi-ye jonubi (= southern dogfish).

[southern spined loach]

Systematics

The type locality of Acanthopsis linea is "Bäche um Persepolis" according to Heckel (1846-1849b). Persepolis is at 29°57'N, 52°52'E in Fars.

The holotype described by Bănărescu and Nalbant (1967) is one of 7 specimens assumed to be syntypes. The catalogue in Vienna lists 1 specimen in one column and 6 in the adjacent column. The type series is in poor condition being dried with scales lost and colour mostly faded except for one specimen. Bianco and Nalbant (1980) cite a specimen as the holotype, a female, 67.0 mm standard length, housed in the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (NMW 48560 - this includes all 7 fish) and the type locality as Persepolis, presumably following Bănărescu and Nalbant (1967). The dried specimens measure 41.2-62.9 mm standard length and the undried one 61.3 mm standard length. My measurement is at variance with these authors.

Placed in the subgenus Bicanestrinia Băcescu, 1962 by Bianco and Nalbant (1980) and originally described in the genus Acanthopsis Agassiz, 1832 (see Eschmeyer (1990) for further details on this genus). Bohlen et al. (2006) place this species in their Bicanestrinia lineage I using the cytochrome b gene. Bicanestrinia has a derived character state in the duplication of the Canestrini scale or lamina circularis on the pectoral fin of males, the primitive condition being a single lamina circularis as in, e.g. Cobitis s.s. The separation between Bicanestrinia and Cobitis s.s. occurred 12-17 MYA when the land connection between Central Europe and Anatolia broke.

Material identified as Cobitis turcica (Hanko, 1924) in Nalbant and Bianco (1998) is C. linea based on my examination of IZA 7829-30. Fricke et al. (2007) have it in the Tor (sic, meaning Kor) River system of Iran, the same error.

Key characters

This species is distinguished by the dark brown lateral spots being reduced or absent, males have 2 Canestrini's scales at the upper bases of the unbranched and first branched pectoral fin rays, and the laterocaudal branch of the suborbital spine is reduced or absent (although the spine itself is detectable by touch in even the smallest fish).

Morphology

Dorsal fin unbranched rays 2 and branched rays 6-7, anal fin unbranched rays 2-3 and branched rays 5, pectoral fin branched rays 7-9, and pelvic fin branched rays 5-6.

Meristic values for specimens examined by me are:- dorsal fin branched rays 6(16), anal fin branched rays 5(16), pectoral fin branched rays 8(6), pelvic fin branched rays 6(6), and total vertebrae 41(1).

Scales are embedded and have a reduced and eccentric focus. Johal et al. (2006) and Esmaeili and Niknejad (2006-2007) give scanning electron micrographs of the scales. The lateral line does not pass the end of the pectoral fin. The swimbladder capsule is globular but has ventral indentations anterolaterally on both sides. There are small keels on the upper and lower caudal peduncle. The anterior nostril is a short tube. The upper lip has fine furrows, the lower lip is thick and folded with a pair of medial lobes.

Sexual dimorphism

Males have Canestrini's scales as detailed above.

Colour

Overall colour is a yellowish-white with a golden iridescence especially on the operculum. Spots, blotches and dots are blue-grey or brown. The flanks are variably spotted and striped, the variability not related to sexual dimorphism. In some fish there is an upper flank, uniform stripe closely following the line of the back, below it a longitudinal series of irregular spots and blotches, a third stripe incompletely developed, and a fourth mid-lateral stripe of spots and blotches. In others the third and fourth stripes are an indistinguishable row of speckles. The mid-line of the back has a row of rounded spots numbering 7-11 (usually 8) predorsally, 0-3 (usually 2) at the dorsal fin base, and 5-11 (usually 8) postdorsally. The upper head is covered with many minute dots, extending onto the snout and upper head sides. The iris is golden-yellow. There is a blackish band from the eye to the mouth corner. There is a minute black spot on the caudal fin base. Fins are translucent. There are numerous dots scattered on the rays and membranes of the dorsal and caudal fins forming up to 9 irregular rows on the former and 8 more regular rows or bars on the latter, but still not very clearly defined. Spots on the dorsal edge of the caudal fin are clearly defined and regular; there are no spots on the ventral edge. The pelvic and anal fins are immaculate while the pectoral fin has some minor and irregular spots.

Size

Reaches 89.6 mm standard length.

Distribution

This species is found in the Kor River basin and the upper Kul River drainage of the Hormozgan basin (Bănărescu and Nalbant, 1967; Bianco and Nalbant, 1980).

Zoogeography

This species may be related to Cobitis simplicispina Hankó, 1925 from Anatolia and other nominal species, all placed in the subgenus Bicanestrinia characterised by two Canestrini's scales. Members of this complex of species possibly reached western Asia from eastern Asia in the early Miocene. The disjunct distributions seen today were probably produced by Pleistocene climatic changes (Bianco and Nalbant, 1980).

Habitat

This species favours muddy bottoms. Specimens were caught in about 5-6 cm of mud, or at the foot of a muddy bank, with aquatic vegetation in the form of reeds.

Age and growth

Esmaeili and Ebrahimi (2006) give a significant length-weight relationship based on 108 fish measuring 3.35-8.96 cm standard length. The a-value was 0.0089 and the b-value 3.060 (a b-value < 3 indicating a fish that becomes less rotund as length increases and a b-value >3 indicating a fish that becomes more rotund as length increases).

Food

Unknown.

Reproduction

Adult females described by Bianco and Nalbant (1980) measuring 80.0-88.6 mm standard length have ripe eggs 0.8-1.1 mm in diameter. A specimen from the Lapui spring caught on 30 June carries eggs of this size.

Parasites and predators

Unknown.

Economic importance

This species is too small and rare to be of direct economic importance.

Conservation

Since this species is known only from a limited number of specimens, further studies should be undertaken to ascertain its abundance and distribution. It seems to favour muddy habitats and may have a restricted distribution in the rocky streams of Fars on this account.

Further work

See above.

Sources

Type material: See above (NMW 48560).

Iranian material:  CMNFI  1979-0292, 1, 69.8 mm standard length, Fars, Lapui Spring in the Kor River basin (29º48'N, 52º39'E); IZA 7829, 4, 41.9-85.5 mm standard length, Fars, Pulvar River 15 km north of Persepolis (29º59'N, 52º59'E); IZA 7830, 1, 27.1 mm standard length, Fars, springs of Kul River near Darab (no other locality data).

Cobitis taenia
Linnaeus, 1758

Common names

mahi roshtegar or roftegar (= dustman, cleaner or sweeper fish, presumably from the bottom-dwelling habit); loch or louch in Khuzestan (presumably from the English name, but also louch means a person with a squint); gel khorak in Khuzestan; sagmahi-ye sangi (= stone loach), sagmahi-ye juibari or sagmahi-e-jooibari, mar mahi (= snake fish).

[lakh mukhattat in Arabic; zagafgaziya iliskani in Azerbaijan; shchipovka or shchipovka zakavkazskaya or Transcaucasian spiny loach in Russian; spined or spiny loach, stone loach, spiny stone loach, weatherfish, spotted weatherfish, Siberian loach].

Systematics

Cobitis Taenia was originally described from Lake Mälaren, Sweden (Kottelat, 1997).

Cobitis taenia satunini Gladkov, 1935 may be the subspecies of the southern Caspian Sea basin distinguished by a truncate snout rather than gradually tapering to the tip as in European spined loaches as well as other characters listed by Gladkov (1935) including head depth comprising 63.5% of head length on average and 12.27% of standard length, and caudal peduncle shorter than the head (on average 16.27% of standard (?) length). However, it was described from western Transcaucasia, outside the Caspian Sea basin, and material from the Caspian coast of Iran has not been examined and compared with it. Berg (1948-1949) referred specimens from the upper Kura River basin to this subspecies but lacked material from the lower Kura, Lenkoran and the southern Caspian Sea coast.

The holotype of Cobitis taenia satunini described from "Kavkaz" and "nizov'ya r. Kintrish" (= lower Kintrish stream in the Caucasus; the Kintrish stream mouth is at 41°48'N, 41°46'E) is in the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University under MMSU P.2852 with a cotype (= paratype) under MMSU P.2317 (Eschmeyer et al. (1996) has MMSU P.2251, quoting Svetovidova (1978), which disagrees with Gladkov (1935)). The Zoological Museum of Moscow University (ZMMU; their acronym) has P-2852 as the holotype plus P-2313 as 2 paratypes (Pavlinov and Borissenko, 2001).

Key characters

Distinguished from other Cobitis and related taxa in northern Iran by having modally 14 branched caudal fin rays, large dark and obvious spots along the mid-flank, and above them speckles which tend to form a stripe and above these a row of spots (absent in S. aurata).

Morphology

Dorsal fin unbranched rays 2-3, branched rays 6-8, anal fin unbranched rays 2-3, branched rays 4-7, usually 5, pectoral fin branched rays 5-9, and pelvic fin branched rays 5-7. Vertebrae 40-46, in the south Caspian Sea 40. Some specimens are elongate while others are deeper bodied. Chromosome number is 2n=48-50 (Klinkhardt et al., 1995) but triploids and tetraploids are also known.

Meristics for Iranian specimens:- dorsal fin branched rays 6(29) or 7(51); anal fin branched rays 4(1), 5(78) or 7(1); pectoral fin branched rays 6(4), 7(35), 8(38) or 9(3); pelvic fin branched rays 5(6), 6(70) or 7(4); caudal fin branched rays 10(1, but deformed), 12(2), 13(7), 14(68), 15(1) or 16(1); total vertebrae ?.

Sexual dimorphism

The second ray of the male pectoral fin is thickened and there is an enlarged scale at the base (Canestrini scale). The body in front of the dorsal fin of males is not distended as in S. aurata.

Colour

The back is light brown. The flanks are pale yellow with a series of 10-20, usually 16-18, dark brown blotches or spots and the back bears a more or less distinct series of 12-21 dark spots. A small stripe of brown spots on the upper flank lies between the 2 series of dark spots. The spaces between these stripes are finely speckled with brown. The belly and lower head are yellowish white. The head is mottled with brown dots and there is usually a band from the eye to the snout tip. The head can have lime-green iridescent tints. Females have yellow-orange dorsal and caudal fins bearing dark spots while in males these fins are almost orange with dark spots. There is a distinctive dark spot or two at the upper base of the caudal fin, often of a crescent shape, although this spot may be absent occasionally. Dorsal and caudal fins have 3-4 rows of brown spots. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are whitish without dark pigment. The iris is silvery, slightly golden or orange.

Size

Reaches 15.0 cm.

Distribution

Found from England and the Iberian Peninsula across Eurasia to Japan. However, Kottelat and Freyhof (2007) give a more restricted distribution and exclude the Caspian Sea basin of Iran in their map. In the Caspian Sea basin of Iran, it is found from Astara to Gorgan Bay including the Anzali Mordab and the Aras River, and from the upper Karkheh, the middle Dez, Kashkan, Simarreh and lower Gav Masiab rivers in the Tigris basin (Saadati, 1977; Roshan Tabari, 1997; Abbasi et al., 1999; Kiabi et al., 1999; Abdoli, 2000). An anecdotal report from the Qareh Chai near Hamadan in the Namak Lake basin needs specimens for confirmation.

Zoogeography

Records from the Tigris River basin of Iran are based on literature (Saadati, 1977) and a single specimen (CMNFI 1979-0285). Mid-flank spots are less distinct than in C. taenia from the Caspian Sea basin of Iran of similar size being smaller and more numerous and the stripe on the centre of the back is continuous rather than spots as in Caspian fish. Identification is tentative. Cobitis taenia survived glaciations in at least three refuges in the Ponto-Caspian area, one remaining near its Black Sea refuge. C. taenia lineages may have a late Pleistocene origin (Culling et al., 2006).

Habitat

This species remains buried in sand, mud which is not too thick, or dense weed growths during the day, being active at night, and is mostly solitary. Swimming is by undulating motions over short distances. When concealed, the body is bent into an arch so only the head and tail protrude. It prefers cool, clear running waters. Along the Caspian shore it is found in the lower reaches of rivers (Jolodar and Abdoli, 2004).

Age and growth

This loach lives up to 5 years and is mature in its second year of life.

Food

Diet is small crustaceans such as ostracods, copepods and rotifers in the bottom mud or sand. A mouthful of mud or sand is taken in, chewed, food items extracted, and the residue expelled convulsively through the gill openings.

Reproduction

Fecundity reaches 5072 eggs, perhaps as high as 10,000 (Palicka, 1996), and egg diameter reaches 1.58 mm. Spawning takes place from April to June in slow to still water. Eggs are laid on sand, stones and vegetation in several batches. Eggs may be deposited on the roots of water plants cleared of debris by males rooting among them. Males use their enlarged pectoral fins to turn the female during spawning.

Parasites and predators

This species is infected with Clinostomum complanatum, a parasite that can cause laryngo-pharyngitis in humans, in the Shirud of western Mazandaran Province (Shamsi et al., 1997).

Economic importance

Robins et al. (1991) list this species as important to North Americans. Importance is based on its use in textbooks and in aquaria. Palicka (1996) gives a short account of its aquarium care.

Conservation

Lelek (1987) classifies this species as rare in Europe. It was commonly caught in Iranian streams along the Caspian coast. Kiabi et al. (1999) consider this species to be of least concern in the south Caspian Sea basin according to IUCN criteria. Criteria include abundant in numbers, habitat destruction, widespread range (75% of water bodies), present in other water bodies in Iran, and present outside the Caspian Sea basin.

Further work

The biology of this species in Iranian waters has not been studied.

Sources

Iranian material: 

Cobitis turcica
(Hanko, 1924)

Nalbant and Bianco (1998) record this species from the "River Kor near Persepolis" but I identify this material as C. linea (q.v.). The species was described originally from Eregli in Anatolian Turkey and its presence in Iran needs confirmation. Erkakan et al. (1999) review the Turkish species of Cobitis but do not mention the occurrence of C. turcica in Iran.

Misgurnus
Lacepède, 1803

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
(Cantor, 1842)

Recorded from the Karakum Canal and Kopetdag Reservoir of Turkmenistan by Shakirova and Sukhanova (1994) and Sal'nikov (1995), this exotic species from China may eventually reach the Tedzhen River and Caspian Sea basins of Iran. No Iranian record.

Sabanejewia
Vladykov, 1929

Sabanejewia is distinguished from Cobitis Linnaeus, 1758 by having 12 rather than 14 branched caudal fin rays, a stronger suborbital spine, developed mental lobes which may be unfringed or well fringed, large imbricated or unimbricated scales with a relatively large and central focus, and males have a protuberance on each side of the body in front of the dorsal and pelvic fins and lack the lamina circularis (a bony process at the base of the second pectoral fin ray)(see Vladykov (1929), Nalbant (1963, 1994), Sawada (1982), Vasil'yeva (1995b) and Perdices and Doadrio (1997, 2001) for further details). Krupp (1985c) does not consider Sabanejewia to be a distinct genus. Perdices et al. ((2003) using mtDNA demonstrate that Caucasian-Caspian lineages are the sister group of a Danubian-Balkan lineage. Tang et al. (2008) using the cytochrome b gene found that ancestral Sabanejewia might have been the first cobitids to cross Siberia and invade the Euro-Mediterranean zoogeographic subregion.

Sabanejewia aurata
(De Filippi, 1863)

Further illustrations

Sabaneajewia aurata; Sabaneajewia aurata; both after Berg (1948-1949)

Common names

sagmahi-ye khardar (= spiny loach), sagmahi-e-jooibari.

[gizili iliskan in Azerbaijan; opi-dzug in Armenia; peredneaziatskaya shchipovka or Hither Asia spined loach, zolotistaya shchipovka or golden spined (spiny) loach, both in Russian].

Systematics

Kottelat (1997) tentatively considers that this species is restricted to Iran and possibly adjacent waters and does not occur in Europe.

The lectotype of Cobitis aurata (MZUT N.674), designated by Tortonese (1961), is stored in the Istituto e Museo di Zoologia della R. Università di Torino and 2 paralectotypes (MSNG N.365) from the Collezione di Universitá di Genova are in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova (Tortonese, 1940; Tortonese, 1961). Eschmeyer et al. (1996) give the paralectotypes' catalogue number as ?MSNG 42727 (ex Univ. Genoa 365).

The type locality is "un fiumicello presso Sartschem" (De Filippi, 1863; not 1865 as in Berg (1948-1949), Banarescu and Nalbant (1964) and Reshetnikov et al. (1997) and not 1862 as in Tortonese (1940) and Eschmeyer et al. (1996)). The type locality is possibly Sarcham-e Sofla (37°07'N, 47°54'E) in the Qezel Owzan River drainage of the Caspian Sea basin in Iran.

Cobitis Hohenackeri Brandt in Kessler, 1877 from the Kura River basin of Transcaucasia (Azerbaijan) is a synonym with 6 syntypes in the Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg (ZISP).

Key characters

Distinguished from other cobitids in northern Iran by having modally 12 branched caudal fin rays, large dark spots along the flank, and above them speckles which do not tend to form a stripe.

Morphology

Dorsal fin unbranched rays 2-3, branched rays 5-8, predominately 6 in the Caspian basin, anal fin unbranched rays 2-3, branched rays 4-8, usually 5, pectoral fin branched rays 5-9, predominately 7 in the Caspian basin (but see below), pelvic fin branched rays 4-8, usually 5 (but see below), and vertebrae 39-43.

Meristics for Iranian specimens:- ? check dorsal rays on x-rays, dorsal fin branched rays 6(11) or 7(4); anal fin branched rays 5(15); pectoral fin branched rays 7(1) or 8(14); pelvic fin branched rays 5(1) or 6(14); caudal fin branched rays 11(2) or 12(13); and total vertebrae ?.

Scales minute but visible to the naked eye, ca. 170-200. Dermal crest or adipose fins are variably developed behind the dorsal and anal fins. Barbels are longer than in C. taenia, the mouth corner barbels reaching back to the posterior eye margin. Karyotype is 2n=50 (Klinkhardt et al., 1995).

Sexual dimorphism

The second pectoral fin ray in males is not enlarged as in C. taenia but there is a lateral distension of the body in front of the dorsal fin in mature males.

Colour

The back is a brownish olive-green with darker marbling. The flanks are golden-brown with a row of dark brown spots, less conspicuous than those in C. taenia. These number 9-18, modally 11-13, in the Caspian basin. The upper row of spots is absent in contrast to C. taenia. The number of spots may be related to habitat, those fish from calm waters having few large spots. The back has several dark blotches along its mid-line. In the Caspian basin there are 7-16 back blotches, modally 9-10. There is a bar at the caudal base, sometimes with a small central gap. Fins are slightly pink.

Size

Attains 13.8 cm, but most fish are less than 10.0 cm.

Distribution

Found in the basins of the Baltic, Aegean, Black and Caspian seas and in the Tedzhen and Murgab rivers of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan according to most authors (Aliev et al., 1988; Nalbant and Bianco, 1998). A distinct subspecies is found in the Aral Sea basin (see below). Kottelat (1997) however considers that this species is restricted to Iran and possibly adjacent waters. It is found along the Caspian Sea coast of Iran including the Anzali Mordab and Safid River and in the Kashaf River of the Tedzhen River basin (Holčik and Oláh, 1992; Abbasi et al., 1999; Abdoli, 2000; Jolodar and Abdoli, 2004).

The record of this species in the Tigris-Euphrates basin at Basrah, Iraq (BM(NH) 1920.3.5:9) in Nalbant (1963) and Bănărescu and Nalbant (1967), and repeated in Banister (1980), is probably an error of labelling (Bănărescu, 1973).

Zoogeography

The subspecies, Cobitis aurata aralensis Kessler, 1877, is reported from the Karakum Canal and the Uzboi lakes in Turkmenistan by Shakirova and Sukhanova (1994) and Sal'nikov (1995) and may well enter both the Tedzhen River and Caspian Sea basins of Iran eventually.

Habitat

This is a nocturnal species, hiding during the day under gravel and boulders of flowing rivers. If exposed, it will make jerking motions to the nearest cover. Some authors state that it also hides in sand. It prefers shallow and clear water. It occurs with C. taenia but is commoner in faster water in the upper and middle reaches of rivers, from 5 to 150 cm water depth. However it may form populations in still water left behind after floods.

Age and growth

Males tend to be slightly smaller than females.

Food

Bottom-dwelling invertebrates are the main food items including larval insects such as mayflies, dragonflies and caddisflies as well as nematodes, copepods, chironomids, fish eggs, algae and detritus.

Reproduction

Fecundity reaches 14,700 eggs and egg diameter 0.85 mm. Eggs are shed over plants from April to August and this species may spawn in batches.

Parasites and predators

Unknown.

Economic importance

None.

Conservation

Lelek (1987) lists this species as rare to vulnerable in Europe. Kiabi et al. (1999) consider this species to be conservation dependent in the south Caspian Sea basin according to IUCN criteria. Criteria include few in numbers, habitat destruction, limited range (less than 25% of water bodies), absent in other water bodies in Iran, and present outside the Caspian Sea basin. The 2000 IUCN Red List lists this species as DD (Data Deficient).

Further work

The biology of this species in Iran has not been examined and its systematics needs clarification.

Sources

Vasil'eva and Vasil'ev (1988) give details on variation in meristics and colour of this species.

Iranian material: ?

Sabanejewia caucasica
(Berg, 1906)

Reported from the Anzali Mordab and lower reaches of the Safid, Toenkabon, Chalus, Heraz and Babol rivers in Iran (Abdoli, 2000) and mapped from teh Caspian coast of Iran by Kottelat and Freyhof (2007). Berg (1948-1949) notes that this species is found in the northern Transcaucasus and is not reported from the Kura River in the southwestern corner of the Caspian Sea. Its presence in Iran needs confirmation by specimens. Formerly in the genus Cobitis.

Sabanejewia caspia
(Eichwald, 1838)

Further illustrations

Sabanejewia caspia; Sabanejewia caspia and suborbital spine; Sabanejewia caspia; all after Berg (1948-1949)

Common names

mahi roshtegar talaee (= golden dustman fish), rofteghar mahi, sagmahi-ye Khazari (= Caspian loach), sag mahi khardar (= spiny loach), mar mahi (= snake fish), sagmahi-e-jooibari.

[xazar iliskani in Azerbaijan; Kaspiiskaya shchipovka or Caspian spined (spiny) loach in Russian].

Systematics

This species was described from "in sinu mardofiensi prope castellum Lencoranicum" (i.e. the Caspian Sea in the ? Mardofiensi Gulf near the Lenkoran fortress). The type specimen is apparently lost (Vasil'yeva, 1995b).

Key characters

Distinguished from other cobitids in northern Iran by having modally 12 branched caudal fin rays, no large dark spots along the flank but a stripe, and above this stripe speckles which do not tend to form a stripe.

Morphology

Dorsal fin unbranched rays 2-3, branched rays 6-7, anal fin unbranched rays 1-2, branched rays 5-6, pectoral fin branched rays 6-7 (but see below) and pelvic fin branched rays 4-6. Vertebrae 41-42. A crest is well developed on the lower caudal peduncle but only posteriorly on the upper edge. Barbels are shorter than in C. taenia, the posterior ones reaching beyond the posterior eye margin. Karyotype is 2n=50 (Klinkhardt et al., 1995).

Meristics for Iranian specimens:- dorsal fin branched rays 6(83) or 7(1); anal fin branched rays 5(80) or 6(4); pectoral fin branched rays 7(6), 8(72) or 9(6); pelvic fin branched rays 4(3), 5(67) or 6(14); caudal fin branched rays 7(1, but deformed), 9(1), 10(3), 11(4), 12(74) or 13(1); total vertebrae ?.

Sexual dimorphism

The second pectoral fin ray in males is not enlarged as in C. taenia but there is a lateral distension of the body in front of the dorsal fin an mature males.

Colour

Live specimens, especially young, are almost transparent. The adult has a pronounced dark line along mid-flank indicating the separation of the upper and lower muscle masses. Above this line the upper flank is yellowish with irregular dark grey pigment or brown speckles near the back. The lower flank has irregular grey pigment or brown speckles. The mid-line of the back has a more or less pronounced dark line. The belly and lower head surface are pale yellowish without grey pigment. The dorsal and caudal fins have yellow-orange rays bearing 3-4 series of dark grey spots. The base of the caudal fin has 2 dark dots although these are not as marked as in Cobitis taenia. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are transparent though larger fish may have elongate grey spots along the rays. The iris is golden.

Note that Vasil'yeva (1995b), based on original data and that of Derzhavin (1934), found that the dark longitudinal band and the dark caudal fin base may not be pronounced.

Size

Reaches 9.2 cm standard length.

Distribution

Principally found in the southern Caspian Sea basin. Records from the northern Caspian Sea are apparently in error and the range is from the Kura to the Babol rivers including the Anzali Mordab (Holčik and Oláh, 1992; Vasil'yeva, 1995b; Abbasi et al., 1999; Abdoli, 2000; Jolodar and Abdoli, 2004).

Zoogeography

This species is endemic to the Caspian Sea basin (Nalbant and Bianco, 1998).

Habitat

This species is found in both fresh and brackish waters, in slow or still water with aquatic vegetation, in the lower reaches of rivers and near river mouths, and in brackish bays.

Age and growth

Unnown.

Food

Unknown.

Reproduction

Spawning takes place in April in the brackish lagoons of the Lenkoran, Azerbaijan. Up to 955 eggs of up to 0.85 mm diameter are carried by each female.

Parasites and predators

None reported for Iran.

Economic importance

None.

Conservation

Holčík and Oláh (1992) report the loss of this species from the Anzali Mordab where it was once found. Reasons for this loss are unknown. Kiabi et al. (1999) consider this species to be conservation dependent in the south Caspian Sea basin according to IUCN criteria. Criteria include possibly few in numbers, habitat destruction, limited range (less than 25% of water bodies), absent in other water bodies in Iran, and absent outside the Caspian Sea basin. Vulnerable in Turkey (Fricke et al., 2007).

Further work

The biology of this species in Iran requires study.

Sources

Iranian material: ?