Acanthobrama tricolor (Lortet, 1883)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 282

Acanthobrama tricolor

Common name. Damascus bream.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Acanthobrama by: ○ ventral keel poorly developed, covered with scales in its anterior part or fully covered with scales / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray soft and entirely segmented / ○ pharyngeal teeth in one row / ○ 49−60 total lateral-line scales / ○ 7−11½ branched anal rays / ○ 7½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 127 mm SL.

Distribution. Syria: Barada and Masil al Fawwar in Al-Awaj drainage, in Golan Area of Separation.

Habitat. Springs and spring-fed streams. Historically, also in lakes.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. CR, possibly extinct; known from lower Barada, where it has not been found since 1908. May still exist in Syria, at Masil al Fawwar in Golan Separation Area, where it was last seen in 1990.

Acanthobrama urmiana ; Urmia basin, Iran; ~ 50 mm SL.

Remarks. Alburnus vignoni , described from the Damascus basin, is a synonym.

Further reading. Lortet 1883 (description); Karaman 1972 (in Acanthobrama ).