Iranian Journal of Ichthyology
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Mar 2020

The systematics, morphology, distribution, biology and economic importance of the East Asian minnows of Iran are described, the species are illustrated, and a bibliography on these fishes in Iran is provided. There are five species, all exotics, in the genera Ctenopharyngodon (1 species), Hemiculter (1), Hypophthalmichthys (2) and Mylopharyngodon (1), variably introduced throughout Iran for fish farming and, in the case of Hemiculter, accidentally.

Seminemacheilus dursunavsari, new species, is described from the Goksu River drainage, Eastern Mediterranean Basin, Konya Province, Turkey. This species is distinguished from the other members of the genus by a combination of the following characters: having irregular molted dark black spots and blotches on flanks, lacking blotches and spots on dorsal faces of head and ventral part of body, possessing fused black spots at base of caudal fin, a saddle-like black spot on the dorsal-fin origin, and blunt snout. Seminemacheilus dursunavsari n. sp. is also diagnosed from S. lendlii, S. ispartensis and S. ahmeti by 13 fixed, diagnostic nucleotide substitutions in the mtDNA COI barcode region, and a K2P genetic distance of 5.8, 5.6 and 4.7%, respectively

The creole perch, Percichthys trucha is endemic to southern South America. The objective of this work was to identify the food groups of juvenile perch (up to one year old) in its natural environment, the Espejo Chico Lake. A total 99 individuals fromwere caught, measured and weighed, and their condition factor (K) was calculated. In the diet analyses, nine different groups (orders) were found in the stomach contents: Diplostraca, Cyclopoida, Amphipoda, Diptera, Coleoptera, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Hymenoptera and Odonata. Food items showed no correlation with fish size (<29, 30-49, 50-69 and 70-89 mm). Diptera and amphipods inhabiting littoral areas were the main food items of the juveniles. We can suppose that the Creole perch prefer the littoral zone as a nursery; this obviates the need to migrate to the limnetic zone, since the littoral zone provides better food, stable physical habitats and refuge, and a higher concentration of dissolved oxygen than deeper zones, both for macroinvertebrates and perch.

The unicorn leatherjacket filefish Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus, 1758) belonging to family Monacanthidae inhabits in the coastal waters of Indo-West pacific, western India to Andaman Sea. For the first time, three specimens of this species were caught in the Odisha coast, Bay of Bengal, India. The morphological characteristics of the collected specimens are given and its geographical distribution have been reviewed based on available literatures

The present study aimed to update and describe the current stock status and to provide quantitative methods for assessing vulnerability extinction of two main pelagic species i.e. Clupeonella engrauliformis and C. grimmi in Iranian waters of the Caspian Sea during 1995-2017. The biomass of C. engrauliformis and C. grimmi were collapsed from more than 180,000 and 47,000 mt in 1996 to 520 and 448 mt in 2017, respectively. The proportional rate of population mature biomass of C. engrauliformis and C. grimmi were declined from about 105,000 and 32,000 mt in 1998 to less than 490 and 440 mt in 2017, respectively. The generation length of both species was estimated five years. Base on IUCN criterion A, the proportional rates of population mature biomass of both kilka species show an exponential reduction and are Critically Endangered. The stocks of two kilka species are being shared among all bordering countries of the Caspian Sea. Therefore, it is suggested a coordinated regional effort between surrounding countries of the Caspian Sea to perform a proper management of kilka fishes’ resources.

Osteological plasticity of  Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) populations inhabiting 29 rivers in four basins were described and compared. The skeletal elements of G . r u f a specimens were stained, cleared and photographed. Studied populations have 12 differences in the head skeleton, four in jaw elements, three in suspensorium, two in opercular series, two in circumorbital series, four in hyoid arches, one in the branchial apparatus, three in Weberian apparatus, three in dorsal fin skeleton, one in anal fin skeleton, one in pectoral fin girdle, three in ventral fin skeleton and two in caudal fin skeleton. These differences could be results of evolutionary adaptations to new habitat conditions and can be used in comparative and phylogenetic studies.

Wetlands, as one of the most important natural habitats in the world, have a high ecological diversity. There are many wetlands in the Iranian Caspian Sea basin, that important one is the Anzali Wetland. This aquatic ecosystem is habitat of a significant portion of the fish species of the Caspian Sea basin. Therefore, the present work was aimed to reviews the book "Fish of Anzali Wetland" written by Abbasi et al. (2018). The book provides useful information about the morphological, biological, and ecological characteristics of its fish species as well as their conservation status. Since this book published in Farsi, therefor reviewing it by providing an abstract can be useful of ichthyologist and other researches.