Garra klatti (Kosswig, 1950)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 198-199

Garra klatti

Common name. Anatolian golden barb.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Central Anatolia, Mediterranean, and Dead Sea basins by: ○ no barbels / ○ gular disc incomplete / ○ 15−17 gill rakers / ○ many papillae on mental pad / ○ 36–41+1–2 scales in lateral series / ○ lateral line incomplete, with 6−32 pored scales. Size up to 75 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Lake Eğirdir basin, Lake Işıklı basin in upper Büyük Menderes drainage, Lake Gölcük ( Isparta), and upper Köprüçay drainage.

Habitat. Springs, lakes, and slow-flowing streams.

Biology. Lives up to 4 years. Spawns in second year.

Conservation status. VU; extirpated from Gölcük and Eğirdir basins due to invasion of non-native species. Other populations in decline.

Remarks. Earlier placed in Hemigrammocapoeta or Crossocheilus and considered as a synonym of G. kemali by some authors. Hemigrammocapoeta menderesensis is a synonym. Further reading. Kosswig 1950 (description); Karaman 1971 (morphology); Sarı et al. 2008 (biology); Küçük et al. 2009b (conservation); Geiger et al. 2014 (molecular phylogeny, placement in Garra ); Hamidan et al. 2014 (molecular phylogeny); Behrens-Chapuis et al. 2015 (molecular phylogeny); Küçük et al. 2015 (morphology, in Hemigrammocapoeta ).

The Levantine Rift System. The Levantine Rift System represents the northernmost part of the East African Rift System. This vast geological formation is currently undergoing a process of rifting, whereby the African plate is splitting apart to create a new ocean. Simply put, a rift is a fracture in the Earth’s surface that widens over time. In the East African Rift System, the Somalian Plate is pulling apart from the African plate. The African Plate moves to the north, while the Somali Plate moves to the east. The African and the Arabian Plates move in a north-northeast direction, but the Arabian Plate moves faster, which leads to the rifting process. Between the Sinai and East Anatolia, the rift is subdivided into several elements, which have formed the complex geological situation observed today. The Dead Sea basin and most of the Litani and Orontes drainages are situated in the rift structures of the northern part of this rift system, the Levantine Rift Valley. Notably, the rifting and associated uplifting of the lateral mountains are relatively recent processes. In the Pliocene epoch (~3–2 million years ago), tectonic uplifting of the current-day land between the Mediterranean and the rift finally disconnected the rift valley from the Mediterranean, which flooded the area at high water levels. The last connection, through the Jezreel Valley, was disconnected only ~2 million years ago. The uplifting of the mountains of the Levant, which are also a consequence of the rifting process, resulted in the interruption of the majority of rivers in this region, which previously flowed into the Mediterranean Sea. Furthermore, it severed the westernmost tributaries of the Euphrates from this drainage system, redirecting their watercourse to the Levant. This has resulted in a complex river history for the region, with several biogeographic puzzles that help explain the Levant’s fish communities, which comprise both Mesopotamian and Mediterranean elements. Further reading. Alwan 2013 (biogeography).

Garra lautior ; Wadi Sah, Yemen; 110 mm SL. © S. Tränkner/ SGN.