Alburnoides nicolausi, Bogutskaya & Coad, 2009

Alburnoides nicolausi View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Lorestan spirlin.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnoides in Euphrates and Tigris drainages by: ● usually 7½ branched dorsal rays / ○ 8–11½, usually 9–10½, branched anal rays / ○ horizontaleyediametersmallerthaninterorbitaldistance / ○ ventral keel scaleless or covered by scales at up to ⅓ its length / ○ snout rounded / ○ mouth terminal, tip of mouth cleft situated at about a horizontal line with lower margin of pupil / ○ no pronounced chin / ○ caudal lobes rounded / ○ 41−49+2−3, usually 42−46+2−3, lateral-line scales / ○ 5−9, usually 7−8, gill rakers. Size up to 89 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Iran: Nor Abad drainage in Lorestan, a tributary of Karkheh.

Habitat View Figure . Hill streams and small rivers with moderate to fast-flowing water and gravel substrate.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. CR; known only from a small population in a very small area. Desiccation of streams is a major threat, and the species may be at the border of extinction.

Remarks. Alburnoides nicolausi , A. namaki , and A. idignensis are closely related, and future studies may not support them as independent species.

Further reading. Bogutskaya & Coad 2009 (description); Mousavi-Sabet et al. 2015c (review); Eagderi et al. 2019a (phylogeny).