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| Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae Kaya, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Aksu, Bayçelebi & Turan, 2024 |
Abstract
Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae, new species, from upper Euphrates and Tigris drainages is distinguished from other species of Turcinoemacheilus in Western Asia by having a dark stripe broader than the eye diameter along the lateral line, rarely possessing roundish blotches, 5–6 mandibular pores in mandibular canal, a comperatvely smaller head, a deeper body, and a greater pre-pelvic distance. Our specimens collected from the upper Great Zab, near the type locality of Turcinoemacheilus kosswigi, showed notable genetic divergence (a minimum K2P of 3.3%) from sequences reported as T. kosswigi in previous studies. Despite morphological similarities, this molecular difference suggests that the populations analysed in previous studies may represent a potential new species of Turcinoemacheilus, which we tentatively named as Turcinoemacheius cf. kosswigi. Molecular data also suggest that T. ekmekciae is characterized by a minimum K2P distance of 3.5% from Turcinoemacheilus minimus and T. cf. kosswigi. The three methods for species delimitation (assemble species by automatic partitioning [ASAP], Poisson tree processes [PTP], and multi-rate PTP [mPTP]) that were utilized for testing species assignments consistently identified our test group as a distinct species.
Keywords: cytochrome c oxidase I, freshwater, fish, taxonomy, Western Asia
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| Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae, from the top, FFR 3608, holotype, 36 mm standard length (SL); Kaynarca stream, Euphrates: FFR 3616, paratype, 41 mm SL, Nerduş stream, Tigris: Not preserved, ~35 mm SL; not preserved, ~40 mm SL; not preserved, ~40 mm SL; Kaynarca stream, Euphrates. |
Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae, new species
Diagnosis: Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae is distinguished from its congeners from upper Tigris and Euphrates drainages by a combination of characters. The new species is distinguished from T. minimus from Göksu and Kahta drainages by having a deeper caudal peduncle (7%–9% SL v. 6–7), and 5–6 mandibular pores in mandibular canal (v. 4–5). T. ekmekciae is distinguished from T. kosswigi from upper Greater Zab by having a greater pre-pelvic distance (50%–53% SL v. 47–50), a shorter upper caudal fin lobe (14%–18% SL v. 18–21), and a shorter maxillary barbel (15%–21% HL v. 21–26). The new species is further distinguished from T. kosswigi by having a dark stripe broader than the eye diameter along the lateral line, only in one population possessing roundish blotches (v. a dark-brown mid-lateral stripe narrower than the eye diameter).
Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae is distinguished from the two Iranian Turcinoemacheilus, T. bahaii and T. hafezi, by the position of the ...
Etymology: The species is named for Fitnat Güler Ekmekçi for her contribution to the knowledge of the ichthyofauna of Türkiye. A noun in genitive, indeclinable.
Cüneyt Kaya, Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu, İsmail Aksu, Esra Bayçelebi and Davut Turan. 2024. Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae, A New dwarf loach from upper Tigris and Euphrates (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Journal of Fish Biology. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15578 [10 October 2023]
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