Paraschistura kessleri (Gunther, 1889)

Paraschistura kessleri View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Pishin Lora loach.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Paraschistura in West Asia by: ○ 10–12 regularly shaped and set dark-brown bars on flank, as wide as interspaces / ○ scales completely absent / ○ body depth 11–15 % SL / ○ pelvic reaching to about 1–2 eye diameter in front of anus / ○ suborbital flap or groove absent in male / ○ a bold black spot at base of first dorsal rays / ○ caudal emarginate / ○ snout blunt / ○ no dorsal adipose crest / ○ pelvic origin below first branched dorsal ray / ○ usually 7½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 45 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Pishin Lora drainage in Pakistan and Afghanistan and Mashkid basin in Iran and Pakistan.

Habitat. Moderately to rapidly flowing freshwater streams in mountain and desert landscapes.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. The records from Bodo in Pakistan probably refer to P. lindbergi , and both occur in sympatry in Mashkid basin. Nemacheilus sargadensis is a synonym of P. kessleri . Paraschistura turcomana is another species without scales. It has been described from the Kushka in Morghab drainage in Turkmenistan. Like the Hari, Morghab is an endorheic basin that originates in Afghanistan and ends in Karakum Desert, not far from the inner estuary of Hari.

Further reading. Freyhof et al. 2015 (diagnosis).