Garra smartae, Krupp & Budd, 2009

Garra smartae View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Hasik garra.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Dhofar (Oman) by: ● no prominent hump on back / ○ 33−35 total lateral-line scales / ○ 14(−16) circumpeduncular scales / ○ 7½ branched dorsal rays / ○ 12−15 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch, 10−13 in Laggashaylon / ○ chest and belly behind pectoral origin fully covered by scales but scales on ventral midline and in front of pectoral base deeply embedded and small or absent / ○ gular disc usually longer than wide / ○ tubercles on snout absent / ○ dorsal hyaline or pale-brown with black spots at bases of branched rays / ○ groove between tip of snout and nostrils shallow or absent / ○ eye fully developed. Size up to 76 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Oman: Wadis Hasik and Laggashaylon in Dhofar region.

Habitat. Wadis with high seasonal fluctuations in discharge.

Biology. Feeds on periphyton and detritus. In captivity, individuals reach sexual maturity at five to six months.

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

Remarks. The Laggashaylon population appears to bridge the morphological gap between G. smartae and G. sindhae , and published molecular data suggest that this population may represent an undescribed species. Garra smartae has been erroneously treated as a synonym of G. dunsirei , which is well differentiated and, as a subterranean species, has its own distinct evolutionary trajectory when compared to G. smartae . Described as Garra smarti , but the species name is dedicated to a female and must, therefore, be declinate to G. smartae .

Further reading. Krupp & Budd 2009 (description); Lyon et al. 2016 (phylogeny); Freyhof et al. 2020 (distribution, identification); Sayyadzadeh et al. 2023 (phylogeny).