Cobitis levantina Krupp & Moubayed, 1992

Saad, Adib, Çiçek, Erdoğan, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil & Eagderi, Soheil, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5350 (1), pp. 1-62 : 10

Cobitis levantina Krupp & Moubayed, 1992 [N]—Orontes spined loach; Tinia

Taxonomy. Original description: Cobitis levantina Krupp & Moubayed, 1992: 391 [outflow of Buhairat Hims near Qattina, 34°40’N, 36°37’E, Syria; holotype: SMF 24371 ].—Syrian synonyms: None.—Revisions: Freyhof et al. (2018: 23). ―Illustration: Freyhof et al. (2018: 24, fig. 16) .

Status in Syria. Recorded from Syria in original description by Krupp & Moubayed (1992: 391); subsequently reported Saad et al. (2009).—Syrian material: SMF, BMNH, MIZT.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Orontes River.—Distribution in River Basin: 4-Orontes, 6- Coastal.—General distribution: Asia Minor and Middle East: upper Orontes River system ( Syria and Turkey); Litani River drainage ( Lebanon).—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 437-Orontes.—Habitat: This species lives in mainly streams with clear water and bottom with silty, sand or fine gravel bottom and few submerged vegetation. In moderate current. Freshwater.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: EN ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: ABS, CON, CLI, EUT.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.—High priority for conservation action.