Luciobarbus subquincunciatus (Gunther, 1868)

Luciobarbus subquincunciatus View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Leopard barbel.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Luciobarbus in West Asia by: ● numerous large roundish dark-brown or black blotches on head, body, and fins arranged in an almost quincunx pattern / ● 3 rd inner pharyngeal tooth enlarged, molariform / ○ 75–88 lateral-line scales on body / ○ no median lobe in lower lip. Size up to 600 mm SL, but likely to grow much larger.

Distribution View Figure . Euphrates and Tigris drainages from southern Anatolia to Shatt-al Arab/Arvand and Hammar marshes, including Karun.

Habitat. Large lowland rivers. Rarely reported from reservoirs and marshes.

Biology. Feeds mainly on molluscs but also takes considerable amounts of algae and detritus.

Conservation status. CR; very rare throughout its range. Still in very small numbers in Tigris around Cizre, Botan, a tributary of Tigris, Murat , a major tributary of Euphrates, and Karun in Iran. Very rare in Tigris below Diyarbakır and adjacent waters in Iraq. Probably almost extinct in Khabur, a tributary of Euphrates, but situation in main stem of Tigris is unknown.

Remarks. Placed in Bertinius by some authors, a genus based on enlarged, molariform pharyngeal teeth, a character state found in several unrelated Luciobarbus species.

Further reading. Coad 2010a (biology, distribution); Coad 2021a (biology, morphology).