Alburnus qalilus, Krupp, 1992

Alburnus qalilus View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Syrian spotted bleak.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnus in Mediterranean basin by: ○ mottled pattern on flank, pattern fuzzy, and usually blurred in live individuals / ○ anal origin below 5 th or 6 th branched dorsal ray / ○ 3 scale rows between lateral line and anal origin / ○ ventral keel exposed for 5–10 scales in front of anus / ○ 9–12 gill rakers / ○ 9–11½ branched anal rays / ○ 45–52 total lateral line scales / ○ 3 scale rows between lateral line and anal origin / ○ last simple dorsal ray soft / ○ pelvic axillary scales present / ○ scales on back, flank, and belly well developed, overlapping. Size up to 104 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Syria: Nahr al Kabir (North), Nahr al Sanawbar, and Nahr al-Hawaiz.

Habitat. A wide range of streams and rivers with moderately fast-flowing water and gravel substrate. In a reservoir at Nahr al Kabir but absent from the Nahr al Sanawbar and Nahr al-Hawaiz reservoirs.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range.

Remarks. Occasionally been identified as Leuciscus spurius , a name given to a hybrid between Squalius and Alburnus .

Further reading. Krupp 1992b (description); Geiger et al. 2014 (phylogeny); Freyhof & Turan 2019 (distribution).