Garra kemali (Hanko, 1925)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 196-197

Garra kemali

Common name. Tuz golden barb.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Central Anatolia, Mediterranean, and Dead Sea basins by: ○ no barbels / ○ gular disc incomplete / ○ 9−15 gill rakers / ○ few papillae on mental pad / ○ 36−45+1–2 scales in lateral series / ○ lateral line incomplete, with 5−14 pored scales. Size up to 74 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Ereğli marshes and Lake Meyil in Lake Tuz basin. Lakes Beyşehir and Seydişehir basins, including Çarşamba Canal. Also, in Hirfanlı reservoir (Kızılırmak).

Habitat. Densely vegetated springs, lakes, reservoirs, and slow-flowing streams.

Biology. Matures within a year. Males with bright golden nuptial colouration. Spawns on vegetation. Comes close to shore in spring but stays deep and far from shore in Hirfanlı reservoir in late summer and winter.

Conservation status. VU; occurs in less than 10 populations. Extirpated from Ereğli marshes due to draining of wetland. Other populations in decline.

Remarks. Very abundant when discovered in Hirfanlı reservoir in 2017. Despite regular monitoring efforts, not seen again until 2024, when it was found again. Previously placed in Hemigrammocapoeta .

Further reading. Hankó 1925 (description); Geiger et al. 2014 (molecular phylogeny, placement in Garra ); Behrens-Chapuis et al. 2015 (molecular phylogeny); Küçük et al. 2015 (morphology, in Hemigrammocapoeta ); Yoğurtçuoğlu et al. 2018a (distribution).

Garra klatti ; KÖprüçay drainage, Türkiye; female, ~ 70 mm SL. Garra klatti ; Lake Işıklı basin, Türkiye; male, 49 mm SL.