Paraschistura lindbergi, Banarescu & Mirza, 1965

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 562-563

Paraschistura lindbergi

Common name. Farah banded loach.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Paraschistura in West Asia by: ○ 10–12 regularly shaped and set dark-brown bars on flank, wider or as wide as interspaces / ○ scales completely absent / ○ body depth 14–17 % SL / ○ suborbital flap or groove absent in male / ○ a bold black spot at base of first dorsal rays / ○ caudal emarginate / ○ snout blunt / ○ a short dorsal adipose crest / ○ pelvic origin shortly in front of first branched dorsal ray / ○ usually 7½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 58 mm SL.

Distribution. Afghanistan: Farah drainage in Sistan basin; Iran and Pakistan: Mashkid basin; Pakistan: Unar and Loralai in Indus drainage.

Paraschistura turcomana is another species without scales. It has been described from the Kushka in Morghab drainage in Turkmenistan. Like the Hari, Morghab is an endorheic basin that originates in Afghanistan and ends in Karakum Desert, not far from the inner estuary of Hari.

Further reading. Freyhof et al. 2015 (diagnosis).

Habitat. Streams with moderate to fast-flowing freshwater in mountainous desert landscapes.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. NE; due to the very poor knowledge about this species.

Remarks. This species is poorly known and has not been studied since its description in 1965. The Farah, Mashkid, and Indus populations seem unlikely to be conspecific. Paraschistura lindbergi and P. kessleri occur in sympatry in Mashkid basin.

Further reading. Bănărescu & Mirza 1965 (description); Mirza et al. 1981 (distribution in Pakistan).

Paraschistura makranensis ; Jegin drainage, Iran; 35 mm SL. © H. Mousavi-Sabet.