Barilius mesopotamicus, Berg, 1932

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 248

Barilius mesopotamicus

Common name. Mesopotamian barilius.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from superficially similar species of Alburnus , juvenile clupeids, and Cabdio occidentalis by: ● one pair of short barbels / ○ 6–11 roundish, dark, grey blotches on flank. Size up to 65 mm SL.

Distribution. Euphrates and Tigris drainages in southern Türkiye, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. In the lower part of Karun, Zohreh, Helleh, and Mond all flowing into the Persian Gulf. Also, in Dalaki, an endorheic basin nested within Tigris drainage.

Habitat. Upper water column near surface of small to large rivers with slow to moderate currents.

Biology. A wide range of fish of all sizes caught in late summer suggests multiple spawning and a 1-year maturity with a short life span. Absence from cold headwater streams indicates limited tolerance to low temperatures. Feeds on floating aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates.

diverse in sub-Saharan Africa and subtropical and tropical Asia, including numerous small rainforest species. Many of these are popular ornamental fish. The vertebrate model fish Danio rerio and the miniature fish Paedocypris progenetica , one of the smallest known vertebrates, are included in this family. All species are distinctive, small, herring-like fishes characterised by the lateral line on the lower part of the caudal peduncle. Further reading. Tang et al. 2010 (phylogeny).

Conservation status. LC.

Further reading. Coad & Krupp 1983 (description); Liao et al. 2011 (molecular phylogeny).

Open Access. © 2025 JÖrg Freyhof, Baran Yoğurtçuoğlu, Arash Jouladeh-Roudbar and Cüneyt Kaya, published by De Gruyter. the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

https://doi. org/10.1515/9783111677811-015

This work is licensed under Cabdio occidentalis ; Mashkid basin, Iran; ~ 65 mm SL. © H. Mousavi-Sabet.