Aphanius

Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Teimori, Azad, Gholami, Zeinab & Reichenbacher, Bettina, 2014, Two new species of the tooth-carp Aphanius (Teleostei: Cyprinodontidae) and the evolutionary history of the Iranian inland and inland-related Aphanius species, Zootaxa 3786 (3), pp. 246-268 : 264-265

Key to the species of Aphanius in Iran

1a. Male bluish, black or dusty grey with silvery sports on body, spots might be organized in vertical series........... A. mento

1b. Male with distinct bold black or dark brown lateral bars on body between head and caudal fin base or on posterior body only.....................................................................................................2

2a. Male with 2–3 dark grey or black bars in caudal fin........................................................... 3

2b. Male without bars in caudal fin........................................................................... 5

3a. Scales absent on body; caudal fin slightly emarginate................................................. A. furcatus

3b. Body fully covered by scales; caudal fin truncate or round..................................................... 4

4a. 8–11 dorsal fin rays.............................................................................. A. dispar

4b. 5–7 dorsal fin rays............................................................................. A. ginaonis

5a. 33–43 scales along lateral series; no bold black spot at the middle of the caudal fin base in females............ A.vladykovi

5b. 23–32 scales along lateral series; a bold black spot at the middle of the caudal fin base in females..................... 6

6a. Margin on the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins black in males........................................... A. isfahanensis

6b. Margin on the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins white in males...................................................... 7

7a. Males with usually 7–10 wide white flank bars....................................................... A.shirini

7b. Males with usually 10–19 narrow white flank bars...........................................................8

8a. Males with 12–19 flank bars (usually 15–16) (Namak Basin).......................................... A. arakensis

8b. Males with 9–18 flank bars.............................................................................9

9a. Females usually with short brown bars on flank...................................................... A. farsicus

9b. Females with brown or black spots and blotches on flank..................................................... 10

10a. Females with relatively large irregularly shaped dark blotches on the flank.......................... A. kavirensis n. sp.

10b. Females with relatively small and large irregular dark blotches on the flank....................................... 11

11a. Endemic to southern Mesopotamian basin.................................................... A. mesopotamicus

11b. Not endemic to southern Mesopotamian basin.............................................................. 12

12a. Mean scale width % SL>4.5............................................................. A. darabensis n. sp.

12b. Mean scale width % SL <4.5........................................................................... 13

13a. Scale length % SL 2.6–3.8 with mean value of 3.1................................................... A. sophiae

13b. Scale length % SL 3.4–4.5 with mean value of c. 4.0............................................... A. pluristriatus