Squalius berak Heckel, 1843

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Jawad, Laith, Eagderi, Soheil, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Mouludi-Saleh, Atta, Sungur, Sevil & Fricke, Ronald, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Iraq: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5357 (1), pp. 1-49 : 22

Squalius berak Heckel, 1843 [N]—Mesopotamian chub

Taxonomy. Original description: Squalius berak Heckel, 1843: 1078 [88] [Aleppo, Syria; holotype: syntypes: NMW 48915 (6), SMF 469 [ex NMW] (3)].— Iraq synonyms: Squalius orientalis Heckel, 1847 .—Revisions: Khaefi et al. (2016); Esmaeili et al. (2016b: 119).—Illustration: Heckel (1843: pl. 10, fig. 1); Esmaeili et al. (2016b: 120–123, figs. 1–5).

Status in Iraq. First record from Iraq by Heckel (1843).—Iraq materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Euphrates and Tigris River basins.—General distribution: Middle East: Euphrates and Tigris River basin ( Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran).—Habitat: This species occurs in small to medium-sized streams, mostly in mountains and hilly areas. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Locally commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Iraq: Unknown.—IUCN: LC (IUCN 2023).—Threats: There are many threats in the area, but none is serious enough to significant impact this species.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—Low priority for conservation action.