Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, a new nemacheilid loach from the Göksu River in southern Anatolia (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) Kaya, Cüneyt Turan, Davut Bayçelebi, Esra Kalayci, Gökhan Freyhof, Jörg Zootaxa 2020 2020-07-02 4808 2 284 300 Kaya & Turan & Bayçelebi & Kalayci & Freyhof, 2020 Kaya & Turan & Bayçelebi & Kalayci & Freyhof 2020 [151,460,1693,1720] Actinopterygii Nemacheilidae Oxynoemacheilus Animalia Cypriniformes 5 289 Chordata species cilicicus sp. nov.  ( Figs 2–5)  urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 7CC03542-0FE9-4E1F-84D4-60ADAA09A1E2     Holotype.FFR 15579, 54 mm SL, Turkey: Mersin prov.: irrigation canal 6 kmsoutheast of Silifke, 36.3465 33.9806.    Paratypes.FFR 15560, 18, 43–55 mmSL; FSJF 4098, 5, 44–49 mmSL; same data as holotype.  Additional materials. FFR 15500, 20, 33–44 mmSL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov.: a tributary of stream Aksu 2 kmsouthwest of Kuyumcular, 37.4122, 36.9097.—FFR 15559, 6,  41–49 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: stream Eğlence 1 kmsoutheast of Eğlence, 37.2922, 35.2252.—FFR 15576, 6,  28–52 mmSL; Turkey: Adıyaman prov.: Lake Gölbaşıat Gölbaşı, 37.7978, 37.6611.—FFR 15578, 1,  46 mmSL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu 4 kmnorth of Pazarcık, 37.5256, 37.3119.— FFR 1415, 5,  30–52 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: stream Üçürge 2 kmsoutheast of Karaisali, 37.2377, 35.0890.— FFR 1491, 6,  31–53 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: stream Üçürgeat Karaisali, 37.2611, 35.0669.— FFR 1489, 2,  40–47 mmSL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu 7 kmnortheast of Pazarcık, 37.5399, 37.3477.— FSJF 2324, 4,  49–50 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: stream Çakıtsouth of Salbaş, 37.0961, 35.1170.— FSJF 2432, 6,  29–48 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: Seyhan Riverbelow water regula- tion doors at Yüreyir, south of Adana, 36.9757, 35.3354.— FSJF 2477, 2, 46– 40 mmSL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov.: spring Evrisouth-west of Çöçelli, south of Kahramanmaraş, 37.2662, 37.1017.— FSJF 2507, 1,  53 mmSL; Turkey: Adıyaman prov.: river connecting Lakes Gölbaşı and Azaplı south of Gölbaşı, 37.7904, 37.6263.— FSJF 2569, 13,  46–58 mmSL; Turkey: Adıyaman prov.: stream Çelikat road south of Gölbaşı, 37.6239, 37.5034.— FSJF 2606, 20,  32–54 mmSL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov.: spring Çöçellinorth of Çöçellisouth of Kahramanmaraş, 37.2811, 37.1248.— FSJF 2940, 2,  47–48 mmSL; Turkey: Adana prov.: lower part of stream Ecemişeast of Salbaş, 37.1390, 35.1423.  Material used in molecular genetic analysis.FFR DNA Oxy-7-13;  Turkey: Mersin prov.: irrigation canal 6 kmsoutheast of Silifke, 36.3465 33.9806. (GenBank accession numbers:  MT513925-  MT513930)— FFR DNA Oxy-305-309;  Turkey: Adıyaman prov.: Lake Gölbaşıat Gölbaşı, 37.7978, 37.6611(GenBank accession numbers:  MT513931-  MT513935)   Diagnosis.  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicusis distinguished from other species of the  O. galilaeusspecies group by a combination of characters, none of them unique to the species. It is distinguished from  O. ceyhanensis, which is also found in the Ceyhan, by possession of an incomplete lateral line terminating anterior to the dorsal-fin origin or below the dorsal-fin base (vs. complete), a deeper caudal peduncle (its depth 1.0–1.4 times in its length, vs. 1.4–1.6), a deeper body (20–24% SL vs. 18–20), and a shorter head (head length 22–25% SL vs. 25–27).   Oxynoemacheilus cilicicusis distinguished from  O. galilaeus,  O. pantheraand  O. leontinaeby having a deeply emarginate caudal fin (vs. slightly emarginate or truncate), the flank and back posterior to the dorsal fin base covered by scales (vs. very few isolated scales on caudal peduncle, no scales in  O. galilaeus), and a series of regularly or irregularly-shaped flank bars (vs. irregularly-marbled or mottled in  O. galilaeusand  O. panthera).  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicushas usually one, rarely two, central pores in the supratemporal canal (vs. central pore usually absent in  O. panthera). The new species is distinguished from  O. namiriby having a shorter lateral line, usually terminating anterior to the dorsal-fin origin or slightly posterior to the dorsal-fin base (vs. lateral line terminating posterior to the dorsal-fin base, at the caudal-fin base in some individuals), a deeper body (body depth at dorsal-fin origin 20–24% SL, vs. 16–20), a deeply emarginate caudal-fin with middle ray 1.3–1.5 times in the length of the longest unbranched ray in the upper caudal-fin lobe (vs. slightly forked, 1.2–1.3), and flank bars narrower than interspaces in most individuals, rarely as wide as interspaces (vs. wider than interspaces).   Description.See Figures 2–5for general appearance and Table 3for morphometric data. Medium-sized and stout species. Body deepest at about midline between nape and dorsal-fin origin. Body width greatest at pectoral-fin base in male, slightly anterior to dorsal-fin origin in female. Section of head roundish, flattened on ventral surface, straight in interorbital space, convex on snout. Snout roundish. Caudal peduncle compressed laterally, 1.0–1.4 times longer than deep. No pelvic axillary lobe. Pelvic-fin origin below second or third branched dorsal-fin ray. Anal-fin origin about vertical of midline between dorsal and caudal-fin origins. Pectoral fin reaching to approximately 60– 70% of distance from pectoral-fin origin to pelvic-fin origin. Pelvic fin not reaching anus, not reaching vertical of tip of last dorsal-fin ray. Anus about 50–70% eye diameter anterior to anal-fin origin. Anal fin not reaching caudal-fin base. A shallow dorsal and ventral adipose crest on caudal peduncle, elevated in some individuals ( Figure 2and 5b). Dorsal adipose crest reaching to vertical through posterior anal-fin base. Largest known individual 55 mmSL.   TABLE 3.Morphometric data of  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus(holotype FFR 15579 and paratypes FFR 15560, n=19). The calculations include the holotype.    holotype holotype & paratypes  mean min max SD  Standard length (mm) 54 49.6 45 55 3.6  In percent of standard length  Head length 23.9 23.4 22.5 24.7 0.6  Body depth at dorsal-fin origin 22.4 22.0 20.0 23.7 1.0  Body width at dorsal-fin origin 13.7 16.0 13.7 19.2 1.7  Predorsal length 50.1 51.1 48.8 53.3 1.1  Postdorsal length 38.2 38.2 37.1 39.8 0.8  Preanal length 73.9 75.5 73.9 77.2 1.0  Prepelvic length 51.9 52.7 51.2 53.8 0.8  Distance between pectoral- and pelvic-fin origins 30.3 31.4 29.7 33.2 1.1  Distance between pelvic- and anal-fin origins 24.0 22.9 21.2 24.4 1.0  Distance between vent and anal-fin origin 3.1 2.6 2.1 3.2 0.3  Depth of caudal peduncle 16.2 13.3 11.9 16.2 1.4  Length of caudal peduncle 17.8 16.3 14.6 18.0 0.9  Dorsal-fin depth 19.7 20.3 18.0 22.4 1.1  Anal-fin height 17.7 16.1 14.1 19.4 1.1  Pectoral-fin length 20.7 19.5 18.3 21.5 0.9  Pelvic-fin length 16.7 15.2 13.6 16.8 0.8  In percent of head length  Head depth at eye 58 53.9 49 60 3.1  Snout length 42 42.4 39 47 2.2  Eye diameter 20 20.3 18 22 1.1  Postorbital distance 51 47.8 44 51 2.3  Maximum head width 75 70.4 66 78 3.8  Interorbital width 34 30.3 26 34 2.6  Length of inner rostral barbel 27 26.0 23 28 1.5  Length of outer rostral barbel 34 32.4 27 37 2.8  Length of maxillary barbel 25 31.8 25 36 2.9 Dorsal fin with 8½ branched rays, outer margin straight. Anal fin with 5½ branched rays, outer margin convex. Pectoral fin with 10–12 rays, outer margin slightly convex. Pelvic fin with 7 rays, outer margin straight or slightly convex. Caudal fin deeply emarginate. Flank and back behind dorsal-fin base covered by cycloid scales. Lateral line incomplete, with 13–23 pores, terminating at midline between pectoral- and dorsal-fin bases, slightly posterior to dorsal-fin base in some individuals. Anterior nostril opening at end of a low, pointed and flap-like tube. Posterior tip of anterior nostril reaching to posterior nostril when folded backwards. One, rarely two central pores and one lateral pore on each side of supratemporal head canal, 8–10 pores in anterior infraorbital canal, 3–4 pores in posterior infraorbital canal, 7–10 pores in supraorbital canal and 7–10 pores in mandibular canal. No suborbital groove or flap in male. Mouth small, slightly arched. Lips thick without furrows, lower lip thicker than upper lip. A median interruption in lower lip. Upper lip sometimes with a small and short median incision. Processus dentiformis wide and rounded. Lower jaw rounded, without median notch. Barbels long; inner rostral barbel almost reaching base of maxillary barbel, outer reaching to anterior margin of eye. Maxillary barbel reaching beyond vertical through posterior margin of eye.  Coloration.Body with yellowish or pale brown background and a dark-brown pattern in live and preserved individuals. Dorsal head and cheek with many spots forming a mottled or marbled pattern, ventral surface of head without pattern. Flank with 9–13 dark-brown bars, narrower than interspaces in most individuals, rarely as wide as interspaces. Flank bars often anastomosed into large and small blotches especially behind vertical of dorsal-fin base. Some populations, especially in Ceyhan River drainage, with a fine brown mottled pattern ( Fig. 5d), often overlaying flank bars. Back usually with 5–7 large, irregularly-shaped brown blotches or saddles, narrower than or as wide as interspaces, back rarely without pattern or with a fine mottled pattern. Saddles on back usually separated from bars on flank, single saddles and bars confluent in some individuals. Many individuals with a dark-brown bar on caudal-fin base. Bar dissociated into two blotches or only one blotch at lower caudal-fin base. Dorsal and pectoral fins with many, small black blotches on rays, forming 1–3 narrow bands. Caudal fin with many small black blotches on rays and membranes, forming 2–4 ‘M’-shaped bands. Pectoral, anal and pelvic fins hyaline in small individuals, pectoral fin with dark brown blotches on rays in larger individuals.   Distribution.  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicushas been collected from the lower Göksu, Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers, including the Gölbaşı Lakes basin ( Figs. 6and 7).   Etymology.The species is named for Cilicia, an ancient name for the southern coastal region of Asia Minor, and which existed as a political entity from Hittite times until the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia during the late Byzantine Empire. An adjective.   Remarks.  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicusbelongs to a group of  Oxynoemacheilusspecies in which males lack the suborbital groove present in congeners inhabiting the same river drainages (  O. seyhanicola,  O. evreni,  O. samanticus, and  O. hamwii). It also has an incomplete lateral line usually terminating midway between the pectoral- and dorsal-fin bases, or slightly posterior to the dorsal-fin base in some individuals (vs. complete, terminating posterior to the anal-fin base in  O. seyhanicola,  O. evreni,  O. samanticus, and  O. hamwii), a deep caudal peduncle (its depth 1.0–1.4 times in its length, vs. 1.5–1.8 in  O. seyhanicola, 1.7–2.1 in  O. evreni, 2.1–2.5 in  O. samanticus, 1.4–1.9 in  O. hamwii), and a scaleless body and back except behind dorsal-fin base (vs. completely covered by scales except on the ventral surface in  O. seyhanicola,  O. seyhanensis , O. evreni,  O. samanticus, and  O. hamwii).  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicusis further distinguished from  O. seyhanensisby usually having with 9–13 narrow, irregularly-shaped and spaced dark-brown bars on flank or at least on the caudal peduncle, narrower than interspaces in most individuals or rarely as wide as interspaces (vs. mottled or marbled). While  O. cilicicuspopulations from the Seyhan and Ceyhan Rivers have been considered a potentially undescribed species for a number of years (e.g. Geiger et al.2014), its discovery in the Göksu drainage was unexpected. The Göksu River had a biogeographic connection to the Lake Beyşehir basin in Central Anatolia, evidenced by the shared presence of the fish species  Gobio microlepidotusand  Seminemacheilus tubae( Turan & Bayçelebi 2019, Yoğurtçuoğlu et al. 2020). But the timing of this connection and any details are unknown.  Oxynoemacheilus atiliis the only a member of the genus  Oxynoemacheiluspresent in the Lake Beyşehir basin, and it also occurs in the Manavgat River, which drains to the Mediterranean Sea. But  O. atilihas not been found so far in the Göksu River drainage. At the same time, the Göksu is inhabited by several endemic freshwater fish species with close relationships to species of the Levant and Mesopotamia.  Capoeta caelestisfrom the Göksu is related to the widespread  C. damascinaspecies group in the Levant and Mesopotamia,  Chondrostoma torosfrom the Göksu is related to  C. ceyhanensis,  C. kinzelbachiand  C. regium, and  Luciobarbus pectoralisis found from the Göksu east to the Orontes.  Oxynoemacheilus cilicicusand  Luciobarbus pectoralisare both found in the Göksu, Seyhan and Ceyhan Rivers, and  L. pectoraliseven ranges further to the Orontes drainage. Turkey 36.3465 Silifke 6 33.9806 5 289 1 Mersin holotype [199,1279,1903,1930] FSJF Turkey 36.3465 Silifke 6 33.9806 5 289 FSJF 4098, 5 1 Mersin paratype Turkey 37.4122 Kuyumcular 6 36.9097 Aksu 5 289 6 1 Kahramanmaras Turkey 37.2922 Eglence 6 35.2252 Eglence 5 289 6 1 Adana Turkey 6 290 37.7978 Golbasi 6 37.6611 Lake Golbasi 5 289 1 1 Adiyaman FFR Turkey 37.5256 Pazarcik 6 37.3119 Aksu 6 290 FFR 1415, 5 1 Kahramanmaras FFR Turkey 37.2377 Karaisali 6 35.089 Ucurge 6 290 FFR 1491, 6 1 Adana FFR Turkey 37.2611 Karaisali 6 35.0669 Ucurge 6 290 FFR 1489, 2 1 Adana FSJF Turkey 37.5399 Pazarcik 6 37.3477 Aksu 6 290 FSJF 2324, 4 1 Kahramanmaras FSJF Turkey 37.0961 Salbas 6 35.117 Cakit 6 290 FSJF 2432, 6 1 Adana FSJF Turkey 36.9757 Yureyir 6 35.3354 Seyhan River 6 290 FSJF 2477, 2 1 Adana FSJF Turkey 37.2662 Cocelli 6 37.1017 Evri 6 290 FSJF 2507, 1 1 Kahramanmaras FSJF Turkey 37.7904 Golbasi 6 37.6263 6 290 FSJF 2569, 13 1 Adiyaman FSJF Turkey 37.6239 Golbasi 6 37.5034 Celik 6 290 FSJF 2606, 20 1 Adiyaman FSJF Turkey 37.2811 Cocelli 6 37.1248 Cocelli 6 290 FSJF 2940, 2 1 Kahramanmaras Turkey 37.139 Salbas 6 35.1423 Ecemis 6 290 1 Adana MT Turkey 36.3465 Silifke 6 33.9806 6 290 1 Mersin MT Turkey 37.7978 Golbasi 6 37.6611 Lake Golbasi 6 290 1 Adiyaman