Anatolichthys fontinalis (Aksiray, 1948)

Anatolichthys fontinalis

Common name. Yarışlı killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Anatolichthys by: ○ male with a completely black anal or anal white with a wide black margin, with irregularly set and shaped black bands and/or blotches / ○ body completely covered with overlapping scales / ○ male with regularly set and shaped dark-brown or black bars, without white spots in bars / ○ dorsal completely black or with white or hyaline base / ○ flank bars behind dorsal origin wider than interspaces / ○ female with numerous black spots or blotches on flank often organised in midlateral rows. Size up to about 50 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Karapınar spring near Yeşilova, Düğer spring near Lake Yarışlı southwest of Lake Burdur, springs in former Lake Karaevli southeast of Lake Burdur and Lakes Karataş and Salda basins.

Habitat. Streams, springs, and lake shores, with or without vegetation, also common on rocky shores.

Biology. Live up to 3 years; batch spawning, spawns synchronously with A. saldae from April to September in Lake Salda.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range. Extirpated from Karapınar and Düğer spring and Lake Karataş basin.

Remarks. Potentially introduced to Lake Salda, where it hybridises with A. saldae . Aphanius altus from Karapınar and A. litoralis from Lake Karataş are synonyms.

Further reading. Akşıray 1948 (description); Geiger et al. 2014 (phylogeny); Yoğurtçuoğlu & Freyhof 2018 (identification); Yoğurtçuoğlu 2019 (reproduction).

Anatolichthys iconii ; Lake Eğirdir basin, Türkiye; female, 30 mm SL. Anatolichthys iconii ; Lake Eğirdir basin, Türkiye; male, 25 mm SL.