Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 128-130

Capoeta damascina

Common name. Levantine scraper.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Capoeta in Mediterranean, Damascus, and Dead Sea basins, Lake Van basin, Euphrates, and Tigris (except Karkheh and Karun) by: ○ flank beige, golden, or brown without small black spots, juveniles and some adults individuals with large black blotches / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray weakly to moderately ossified and serrated / ○ 8½–10½, usually 9½ branched dorsal rays / ○ usually 61–82 total lateral-line scales, many individuals have 80–104 total lateral-line scales in Tigris and Euphrates / ○ 11–20 scales between lateral line and dorsal origin / ○ 7.5–14.5 scales between lateral line and pelvic origin / ○ 23–34 circumpeduncular scales / ○ usually 18–23 gill rakers, 12–18 gill rakers on lower limb, 12–15 in Damascus basin / ○ one pair of barbels / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray shorter than head / ○ usually

18–25 scales above lateral line / ○ 11.5–15.5 scales below lateral line / ○ 31–39 circumpeduncular scales. Size up to 450 mm SL.

Distribution. Seyhan, Ceyhan, and Orontes southwards to Litani in Lebanon. Damascus and Qweiq endorheic basins, Jordan drainage, and major tributaries of Dead Sea (such as Moujib and Hasa). Euphrates and Tigris, including tributaries of Lake Van. Absent from Iranian rivers flowing into Persian Gulf south of Karun, except Dez, a tributary of Karun. Absent from other parts of Karun and Karkheh.

Habitat. A wide range of running waters, lakes, and reservoirs with (seasonally) inflowing rivers or streams. Occupies cold headwaters of mountain zones, medium-sized rivers, springs, and associated wetlands, down to small wadis and brackish desert streams. Spawns on gravel, wave-washed lake shores, and spring discharge horizons. Larvae and juveniles inhabit riparian habitats.

Biology. Lives up to 12 years. Spawns first time at C. umbla . High and low-scale-count fish are not distin- 130−200 mm SL, usually matures at 2 (males) and 4 guished by their COI DNA sequences (but few individuals (females) years. Spawns May−June or late July ( Lebanon), differ slightly in their LSU sequences), all other meristic January−March or May (upper Jordan). Migrates regionally characters overlap, and high and low-scale-count individfrom lakes to rivers to spawn. In upper Jordan, migrates in uals are superficially very similar in all other characters. December−February to spawning areas in upper reaches. Furthermore, the distribution of scale numbers in Van Lake Rainfall, flooding, and a drop in water temperature trigger basin bridges the gap between C. damascina and “ C. umbla . ” migration. Several males usually follow a female to spawn. The background of this situation has yet to be understood. Eggs are sticky and are deposited in gravel excavated by A first hypothesis is that they are two species often found female during spawning. Eggs poisonous. Adults migrate in sympatry; intermediate individuals could be hybrids, downstream after spawning. Juveniles have many dark and the lack of COI DNA sequences could be due to introbrown blotches on a silvery or golden background. Feeds gressive hybridisation. The overall high similarity of both on detritus, periphyton, and invertebrates. “species” and their syntopic occurrence challenge this Conservation status. LC. view. Such superficially similar and closely related species Remarks. Reported from an oasis on Sinai Peninsula, only rarely occur in syntopy, and it is difficult to imagine where it may have been introduced (but now extirpated). that this is the case for Capoeta , which is known to hybrid- Despite its wide distribution, recent molecular studies ise even with sympatric other Capoeta and Luciobarbus involving fish across its range have not revealed a strong species. Alternatively, the often bimodal scale numbers in phylogeographic structure. Capoeta kosswigi from Lake syntopic fishes may indicate that scale number inheritance Van basin and C. angorae from Seyhan and Ceyhan are syn- may be associated with two alternative haplotypes leading onyms. Capoeta pyragyi , described from the Dez, a tribu- to either high- or low-scale numbers rather than intermeditary of Karun in Iran, is identical to C. damascina by its COI ate scale numbers, as expected in hybrids. This hypothesis DNA sequences, and all morphological characters given in suggests a species that occurs in individuals with high- or original description overlap with those of C. damascina . It low-scale numbers, both in mixed and pure populations. is also treated as a synonym. Until this hypothesis is rejected, we treat C. umbla and In the Tigris, high-scale count individuals (80–104, total C. damascina as conspecifics.

lateral-line scales) occur in pure populations or syntopy Further reading. Türkmen et al. 2002 (biology); Alwan with low-scale count individuals (61–82). In the Euphra- 2010 (revision of C. damascina group); Alwan et al. 2016b tes, no pure high-scale count populations have (yet) been (morphology, phylogeny); Esmaeili et al. 2016a (descripreported, but low and high-scale count individuals often tion, molecular phylogeny); Kaya et al. 2016 (distribution); occur in syntopy, whereas in the Mediterranean, only low- Zareian & Esmaeili 2017 (description); Jouladeh-Roudbar et scale count fish have been found. The high-scale count al. 2017c (description); Kaya 2019 (distribution); Coad 2021a individuals are often recognised as a separate species, (biology, morphology).

Capoeta erhani ; Seyhan drainage, Türkiye; 129 mm SL.

Capoeta erhani ; Seyhan drainage, Türkiye; 220 mm SL.