Pseudophoxinus kervillei ( Pellegrin, 1911 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 461

Pseudophoxinus kervillei ( Pellegrin, 1911) [N]—Orontes minnow; Lavnunit ha’galil

Taxonomy. Original description: Pseudophoxinus kervillei Pellegrin, 1911: 109 [Orontes River near its outlet from Lake Homs (Lake Qattinah), Syria, elevation 490 metres, ca. 34°39’47.7”N 36°37’12.4”E; lectotype: MNHN 1910- 0018 (36 mm SL, poor condition); lectotype selected by Krupp & Schneider (1989: 377)].— Israel synonyms: None.—Revisions: Krupp & Schneider (1989: 377), Saad et al. (2006, 2009).—Illustration: Krupp & Schneider (1989: fig. 24).

Status in Israel. First record from Israel by Steinitz (1951) as Phoxinellus (Pararhdeus) kervillei ; confirmed by Steinitz (1953: 212); Goren (1974: 78), Goren & Ortal (1999: 4).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Jordan Valley system.—Distribution in River Basin: 2- Dead Sea Basin, 3-Kinneret basin.—General distribution: Asia Minor and Middle East: Orontes River basin ( Israel, Syria, and Turkey).—Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species is found in springs, streams, and rivers, usually with clear waters and dense vegetation. It is also found in the littoral zone of Lake Kinneret. Freshwater.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Israel: Unknown.—IUCN: EN (2023).—Threats: Unknown.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—High priority for conservation action.

Remarks. Both Pseudophoxinus kervillei and Pseudophoxinus libani are distributed in the Orontes basin. It is probable that P. kervillei is a synonym of P. libani based on the molecular findings given by Geiger et al. (2014). Indeed, Bariche & Freyhof (2016) treated P. kervillei as a synonym of Pseudophoxinus libani . Therefore, these situations should be clarified with detailed comparative studies.