Pseudophoxinus kervillei ( Pellegrin, 1911 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Sungur, Sevil, Fricke, Ronald & Seçer, Burak, 2023, Freshwater lampreys and fishes of Türkiye; an annotated checklist, 2023, Turkish Journal of Zoology 47 (6), pp. 324-468 : 405

Pseudophoxinus kervillei ( Pellegrin, 1911) [N] ― Orontes minnow/Ot balığı

Taxonomy. Original description: Phoxinellus kervillei Pellegrin, 1911: 109 [Orontes River near its outlet from Lake Homs (Lake Qattinah), Syria, elevation 490 m, approximately 34°39′47.7″N 36°37′12.4″E; lectotype: MNHN 1910-0018 (36 mm SL, poor condition); lectotype selected by Krupp and Schneider (1989: 377)]. ― Synonyms: None. ― Revisions: Krupp and Schneider (1989: 377). ― Illustration: Krupp and Schneider (1989: 377, fig. 24).

Status in Türkiye. Listed in previous checklists from Türkiye by Kuru (2004); Geldiay and Balık (2007) as Phoxinellus zeregi kervillei ; Fricke et al. (2007); Kuru et al. (2014); Çiçek et al. (2015, 2020). ― Turkish material: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Türkiye: Orontes River basin. ― Distribution in river basins: 19- Asi. ― General distribution: Asia Minor and Middle East: Orontes River basin ( Syria and Türkiye). ― Distribution in ecoregions: 437-Orontes. ― 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 lakes. Freshwater.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Türkiye: Unknown. ― IUCN: NE (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 in Türkiye. It is probable that kervillei is a synonym of P. libani based on the molecular findings given by Geiger et al. (2014). Indeed, Bariche and Freyhof (2016) threated P. kervillei synonym of Pseudophoxinus libani . Therefore, these situations should be clarified with detailed comparative studies.