Seminemacheilus attalicus, Yoğurtçuoğlu & Kaya & Geiger & Freyhof, 2020

Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Kaya, Cüneyt, Geiger, Matthias F. & Freyhof, Jörg, 2020, Revision of the genus Seminemacheilus, with the description of three new species (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae), Zootaxa 4802 (3), pp. 477-501 : 488-491

Seminemacheilus attalicus , new species

( Figs. 9–11 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D33EA554-6F7C-4CE3-874E-A436C2D3E498

Holotype. FFR 15566, 69.5 mm SL; Turkey: Antalya prov.: spring Kırkgöz , 37.1097, 30.5807.

Paratypes. FFR 15555, 7, 30–86 mm SL, same data as holotype.— FFR 15564, 5 , 25–32 mm SL; Turkey: Antalya prov.: spring Kırkgöz , 37.1099, 30.5804 .— FSJF 2266 , 17 , 59–75 mm SL; Turkey: Antalya prov.: spring Kırkgöz , 37.1098, 30.5805 .— FSJF 3105 , 6 , 53–58 mm SL; Turkey: Antalya prov.: stream at Döşemealtı , 37.0239, 30.5919 .

Material used in molecular genetic analysis. FSJF DNA-336 ; Turkey: Antalya prov.: spring Kırkgöz , 37.1098, 30.5805. (GenBank accession numbers: KJ 554719 , KJ 554816 , KJ 554960 ) .

Diagnosis. Seminemacheilus attalicus is distinguished from all species of Seminemacheilus by having usually a slightly emarginated caudal fin (vs. truncate or rounded) and a central pore in the supratemporal head canal (vs. absent). It is further distinguished by a combination of characters. Seminemacheilus attalicus is distinguished from S. lendlii by having a coarse, mottled or marbled flank pattern without an epidermal midlateral stripe in life (vs. fine mottled flank pattern with a midlateral stripe in life). Preserved individuals of both species have a prominent inner axial stripe. Seminemacheilus attalicus is further distinguished from S. ispartensis by having a scaleless body (vs. deeply embedded scales on the caudal peduncle) and a longer head (head length 24–28% SL vs. 21–24). It is further distinguished from S. ahmeti by usually lacking black or brown dots or blotches on the belly (vs. usually present) and the posterior naris not reaching to the anterior eye margin when folded backward (vs. reaching). In our materials, one very large individual of S. attalicus (86 mm SL) has few brown blotches on the belly. This individual is much larger than any S. ahmeti found so far.

Description. See Figures 9–11 for general appearance and Table 3 for morphometric data of holotype and 22 paratypes. Large, deep and wide-bodied species with long head. Body deepest at about dorsal-fin origin, depth decreasing very slightly towards caudal-fin base. No hump at nape. Greatest body width at pectoral-fin base, body almost equally wide until dorsal-fin origin. Section of head roundish, flattened on ventral surface. Caudal peduncle compressed laterally, 0.9–1.2 (mean 1.0) times longer than deep. No axillary lobe at base of pelvic fin. Pelvic-fin origin below 2 nd branched dorsal-fin ray. Pectoral fin reaching approximately 60–70% (female), 80–110% (male) of distance from pectoral-fin origin to pelvic-fin origin. Pelvic fin not reaching anus. Anus about half eye diameter in front of anal-fin origin.Anal fin reaching far beyond middle of caudal peduncle.A long and shallow adipose crest on caudal peduncle, often reaching under dorsal-fin rays. Margin of dorsal fin convex. Caudal fin slightly emarginated, rarely truncate. Largest known specimen 86 mm SL.

Dorsal fin with 7½ (n=3) or 8½ (n=1) branched rays. Anal fin with 5½ branched rays. Caudal fin with 8+8 branched rays. Pectoral fin with 10–11 and pelvic fin with five branched rays. Body without scales. Lateral line incomplete, with 8–13 (23 in one individual) pores, reaching to middle of pectoral fin, except one specimen where it reached anterior to dorsal-fin origin. Anterior nostril opening on anterior side of a low, pointed and flap-like tube, not reaching to anterior eye margin when folded backwards. One central and 2–3 lateral pores on each side of supratemporal canal, 10–14 pores in anterior infraorbital canal, 3–5 pores in posterior infraorbital canal, 7–13 pores in supraorbital canal and 7–12 pores in mandibular canal. Mouth small, slightly arched ( Fig. 18 ). Lips thick with deep furrows, mental lobes elevated with deep furrows and finger-like projections in some individuals. A median interruption in lower lip. Upper lip with median incision in some individuals, absent in others. Processus dentiformis small, very shallow and blunt. Lower jaw rounded, without median notch. Barbels long, inner rostral barbel almost reaching base of maxillary barbel; outer one reaching to anterior margin or middle of eye. Maxillary barbel reaching beyond vertical of posterior margin of eye. Male with much longer pectoral fin than female.

Coloration. In ethanol, body pale yellow with brown pattern. Flank with a coarse, brown, mottled or marbled patter of irregular shaped, partly confluent blotches. Blotches on back and on upper part of flank often large than flank-blotches, more isolated from eachother, forming horizontal rows in some individuals. In some individuals, blotches along midlateral line larger and darker and organise into a midlateral series, not forming a stripe. Pigmentation along lateral midline often completely dark-brown. A dark-brown inner axial stripe present in some individuals. Back completely dark-brown in most individuals, with large, roundish or irregularly shaped blotches in others. Often a pale brown marbled field on flank between back and lateral midline. No dark brown or black bar or spot at posterior extremity of caudal peduncle. Cheeks and ventral surface of head cream and belly pale yellow, in one very large individual (86 mm SL), belly with brown blotches. Cheeks and head above cheeks with many small brown spots and blotches, sometimes fused into a mottled or vermiculate pattern. Dorsal- and caudal-fin rays with many elongated blotches, forming 2–3 dark vertical rows in juveniles, about up to 40 mm SL, rows not evident in many larger individuals. Margin of dorsal and caudal fins hyaline. Anal, pelvic and pectoral fins hyaline or with brown dots or blotches on rays.

In life, creamy brown or yellowish with dark-brown pattern. No inner axial stripe.

Distribution. Seminemacheilus attalicus is known from the Kirkgöz drainage in southern Anatolia.

Etymology. Named for Attalia, the historic name of the present-day city of Antalya, founded under this name by Attalos II, king of Pergamon. An adjective.

Remarks. Based on DNA barcoding S. attalicus is well separated from all other species of Seminemacheilus , and by a minimum K2P distance of 4.3% from S. lendlii , its closest relative. It is supported as a distinct species by the PTP approach as well was the mPTP delimitation.

Kırkgöz spring is believed to have been formed 10–5 million years ago, when the Alanya massif collided with the southwestern section of the Taurus-Menderez block, and separated the Lake District in Central Anatolia from the Beydağları Mountains ( Waldron 1984; Kuzucuoğlu et al. 2019). Today, Kırkgöz spring is still being fed by the karstic limestone of the Beydağları aquifer system. Similar to S. ahmeti in Sultan Sazlığı , S. attalicus is restricted to a very small area of no more than 25 km 2. Here, it occurs together with three other locally endemic fish species ( Aphanius mentoides, Pseudophoxinus antalyae and Cobitis sipahilerae ). Kırkgöz springs also holds an exceptionally high num- bers of mollusc species with an extremely restricted range and contains more threatened freshwater mollusc species than anywhere else in the region around (Smith et al. 2014), making this area a hotspot for freshwater biodiversity.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Seminemacheilus attalicus, holotype, FFR 15566, male, 69.5 mm SL; spring Kırkgöz.

FIGURE 10. Seminemacheilus attalicus, from top: paratypes, FFR 15555, female, 86 mm SL; male, 50 mm SL; spring Kırkgöz.

FIGURE 11. Seminemacheilus attalicus, from top: paratypes, FSJF 2266, female, 63 mm SL; male, 64 mm SL; FFR 15555, female, ~ 60 mm SL; spring Kırkgöz.

FIGURE 18. Upper row, from left: Seminemacheilus lendlii, FFR 15570, 53 mm SL; stream Eymir; S. ispartensis, FFR 15565, 60 mm SL; stream Sevinçbey; S. ahmeti, FSJF 2604, 53 mm SL; spring Soysallı. Lower row, from left: S. attalicus, FFR 15555, paratype, 86 mm SL; spring Kırkgöz; S. ekmekciae, FFR 15568, paratype, 47 mm SL; stream Insuyu; S. tubae, FSJF 3100, paratype, 65 mm SL; stream Büyükçay.