Oxynoemacheilus araxensis ( Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1978 )

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 : 342

Oxynoemacheilus araxensis ( Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1978) [E] ― Erzurum loach/Çöpçü balığı

Taxonomy. Orthrias angorae araxensis Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1978: 259 , fig. 2; Pl. 20 (figs. 1-4) [Kandili Karassu, upper Karassu drainage, Euphrates-Tigris basin, eastern Türkiye; holotype: ZMH 4827]. ― Synonyms: Orthrias araxensis Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1978 ; Barbatula araxensis ( Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1978) . ― Revisions: None. ― Illustration: Bănărescu and Nalbant (1978: 259, fig. 2; Pl. 20 (figs. 1-4)).

Status in Türkiye. Recorded from Türkiye in the original description by Bănărescu and Nalbant (1978). Listed in previous checklists from Türkiye by Kuru (2004) as Orthrias angorae araxensis ; Geldiay and Balık (2007); Fricke et al. (2007) as Orthrias araxensis ; Kuru et al. (2014); Çiçek et al. (2015, 2018 a, 2020). ― Turkish material: ZMH.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Türkiye: Karasu River, Euphrates River basin. ― Distribution in river basins: 21-Fırat-Dicle. ― General distribution: Asia Minor: upper Euphrates (Fırat Nehri) (Persian Gulf tributary), Erzurum Province ( Türkiye). ― Distribution in ecoregions: 442-Upper Tigris and Euphrates. ― Habitat: This species inhabits gravel-bottomed streams with moderately flowing currents. Freshwater.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Türkiye: Unknown. ― IUCN: DD (IUCN, 2023). ― Threats: Current threats to the species are unknown. ― Moderate sensitivity to human activities. ― Keystone species. ― Decline status: Unknown. ― Moderate priority for conservation action.