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A Critical Checklist of the Inland Fishes Native to the Euphrates and Tigris Drainages

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Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth

Part of the book series: Aquatic Ecology Series ((AQEC,volume 11))

Abstract

The fishes of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers are reviewed and 242 is the total species from 58 families are recognized. From these, and 126 are coastal species, many just entering the lower Shatt Al-Arab during salt water intrusion. Additional 107 species are anadromous (Tenualosa ilisha) or restricted to freshwaters including one species (Aphaniops stoliczkanus) found in freshwater, brackish water, and marine habitats. Three families (Cyprinidae: 30 species, Leuciscidae: 22 species, Nemacheilidae: 37 species) dominate the freshwater fish fauna. The largest genus is Oxynoemacheilus with 24 species in the area. Endemic to the Euphrates and Tigris are 87 species (77%) of freshwater species. Most non-endemic freshwater species occur also in the Iranian rivers of the Gulf, while six species are shared with the Mediterranean and one each with the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea basins.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany

    Jörg Freyhof

  2. Faculty of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

    Cüneyt Kaya

  3. Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq

    Atheer Ali

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  1. Jörg Freyhof
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  2. Cüneyt Kaya
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  3. Atheer Ali
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Correspondence to Jörg Freyhof .

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  1. School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Laith A. Jawad

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Freyhof, J., Kaya, C., Ali, A. (2021). A Critical Checklist of the Inland Fishes Native to the Euphrates and Tigris Drainages. In: Jawad, L.A. (eds) Tigris and Euphrates Rivers: Their Environment from Headwaters to Mouth. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 11. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57570-0_35

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