Chondrostoma turnai, Guclu, Kucuk, Turan, Ciftci & Mutlu, 2018

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 341-342

Chondrostoma turnai

Common name. Menderes nase.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Chondrostoma in Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea basins by: ○ 44−54 total lateral-line scales / ○ 6−6, rarely 5–6 or 5–5, pharyngeal teeth / ○ 8½ branched dorsal rays / ○ 9−10½ branched anal rays / ○ 19−27 gill rakers / ○ thick cornified sheath covering lower lip / ○ usually 8 branched pelvic rays. Size up to 240 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Tahtalı, Küçük, and Büyük Menderes drainages.

Habitat. Moderate to fast-flowing large to medium-sized rivers with rocky or gravel bottoms. Spawns in fast-flowing water on shallow gravel beds, often in small tributaries.

Biology. Feed on periphyton scraped from hard substrate.

Conservation status. LC; disappeared from the Küçük Menderes drainage, which is now dry in upper and heavily polluted in lower reaches.

Remarks. Populations from Tahtalı were described as C. smyrnae based on very small molecular differences only. Morphological characters distinguishing C. smyrnae from C. turnai could not be confirmed based on our material, and C. smyrnae is treated as a synonym of C. turnai .

Further reading. Güçlü et al. 2018 (description); Küçük et al. 2021 (phylogeny, description of C. smyrnae ).

Hammar Marsh in Iraq is one of the few large wetlands left in the region. © U. Eichelmann.

Draining the Hammar Marsh. The marshes in southern Iraq were distinctive, comprising extensive wetlands once teeming with biodiversity. The construction of the Main Outfall Drain ( MOD), subsequently renamed the Third River/Saddam River project, was commenced in 1953 to drain the marsh area between the Euphrates and Tigris, situated south of Baghdad. Two additional canals were constructed near the MOD: the Mother of Battles Canal and the Fidelity to the Leader Canal. The former was used to divert the flow of the Euphrates southeast to the Hammar Marsh, and the latter transported water from the MOD to the south of Basra. The drainage of the marshes was initiated with the erection of a dike to divert Central Marsh overflow away from Hammar Marsh. Drought in the area was further exacerbated by dam construction in Türkiye and Syria. The Iran – Iraq War also contributed to the deterioration of the wetlands, with 94 % of Hammar Marsh having been converted to bare ground by 2001. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi government, the United Nations, and various U.S. agencies attempted to restore the marshland. It appears that there has been some recovery of the wetland. Still, the reduced availability of water from the Euphrates and Tigris due to the construction of numerous dams, other water stressors, and climate change-driven droughts continue to pose a significant risk to the marshes. Further reading. Alwan 2013 (Euphrates).