Oxynoemacheilus leontinae (Lortet, 1883)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 518

Oxynoemacheilus leontinae

Common name. Tiberias loach.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Oxynoemacheilus in southern Levant by: ○ flank scaleless or with few isolated scales / ○ caudal very slightly emarginate or truncate / ○ lateral line terminating about at vertical of dorsal origin / ○ without prominent dorsal crest on caudal peduncle or with short crest on posterior caudal peduncle / ○ suborbital groove absent in male / ○ body depth at dorsal origin 16–20 % SL / ○ 8½-9½ branched dorsal rays / ○ flank with a series of irregularly shaped bars or large, roundish or vertically elongate blotches. Size up to 64 mm SL.

Distribution . Israel: Lake Hula and Tiberias basins.

Habitat. Lakeshores and small tributaries.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range. Extirpated from Hula and now restricted to Tiberias basin.

Remarks. Often identified as O. galilaeus or O. panthera .

Further reading. Lortet 1883 (description); Krupp 1985d, Krupp & Schneider 1989 (distribution).

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Oxynoemacheilus leontinae

Distribution