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The lined rockskipper, Istiblennius lineatus, is a species of combtooth blenny fish distributed from the Laccadive and Maldive islands, central Indian Ocean, east to Mangareva and Gambier Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It occurs as far north as Toyohama, Japan, and now it is recorded from the coastal area of the Makran Sea, Iran. Six specimens of I. lineatus were collected from 3 localities in the Iranian coast of the Makran Sea during a fish survey in November 2015. These specimens represent the first record of the species from Iranian waters as well as an extension of its known geographical range within the Indian Ocean. The morphological features of these specimens are herein described and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular status of nine species of the genus Alburnoides from different river drainages in Iran and additionally by seven species from Europe was assessed. mtDNA COI gene sequences from freshly collected specimens and available NCBI data revealed four major phylogenetic lineages. Based on the results, a distinct taxon from the Cheshmeh Ali (Ali Spring), a Damghan River tributary in the endorheic Dasht-e Kavir basin, northern Iran, which is the closest sister to Alburnoides namaki (Namak Lake basin) + A. coadi (Nam River in the endorheic Dasht-e Kavir basin) is considered as a new species, Alburnoides damghani sp. n. It is distinguished from other Alburnoides species in Iran by a combination of character states including: a weakly-developed, variably-scaled, ventral keel from completely scaleless to completely scaled, a short snout with the tip of the mouth cleft on a level with the lower margin of the pupil or slightly lower, a small eye (eye horizontal diameter slightly to markedly less than interorbital width), commonly 8? branched dorsal-fin rays, commonly 11-12? branched anal-fin rays, 40-46(47) total lateral-line scales, 2.5-4.2 or 2.5-4.1 pharyngeal teeth, gill rakers short and widely spaced, 6-8 in total, 39-41 (commonly 40), total vertebrae, (19)20(21) abdominal vertebrae, 19-21 (most commonly 20) caudal vertebrae, abdominal vertebral region most commonly equal to or longer than caudal region, and most common vertebral formulae 20+20 and 21+19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As presently recognized, the genus Capoeta includes 24 species, nine of which are known to occur in Iran (C. aculeata, C. capoeta, C. buhsei, C. damascina, C. fusca, C. heratensis, C. mandica, C. saadii and C. trutta) and are distributed in almost all Iranian basins except Sistan and Mashkid. Capoeta coadi sp. n. is a new species from the Karun River, southern Iran, draining into the Arvand Rud (Shatt al-Arab) which drains into the Persian Gulf. It is distinguished from all other species of Capoeta by the combination of the following characters: elongate and usually cylindrical body; 8--9 branched dorsal-fin rays; last unbranched dorsal-fin ray weakly to moderately ossified and serrated along 1/3--2/3 of its length; scales small; 70-84 in lateral line (total); 12--17 scales between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line; 9-11 scales between anal-fin origin and lateral line; 26--32 circum-peduncular scales; 10--13 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch; 45--47 total vertebrae; one posterior pair of barbels; bright golden-greenish or silvery body coloration in life; length of the longest dorsal-fin ray 15--22% SL; head length 23--26% SL; mouth width 7--10% SL. Capoeta coadi is also distinguished from all other congeners in the Iranian drainages by fixed diagnostic nucleotide substitutions in the mtDNA COI barcode region and cyt b. It is nested in the Capoeta damascina species complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of tooth-carp, Aphanius arakensis sp. n., is described from the Namak Lake basin in Iran. The new species is distinguished by the congeners distributed in Iran by the following combination of characters: 10-12 anal fin rays, 28-32 lateral line scales, 10-13 caudal peduncle scales, 8-10 gill rakers, 12-19, commonly 15-16, clearly defined flank bars in males, a more prominent pigmentation along the flank added by relatively big blotches in the middle and posterior flank segments in females, a short but high antirostrum of the otolith that has a wide excisura, and a ventral rim with some small, drop-like processes, and 19 molecular apomorphies (17 transitions, two transversions) in the cytochrome b gene. It was suggested based on the phylogenetic analysis that the new species is sister to A. sophiae from the Kor River and that A. farsicus from the Maharlu Lake basin is sister to A. arakensis plus A. sophiae. A noticeable feature of the Aphanius diversity in Iran is the conservatism of the external morphology as well as morphometric and meristic characters, while distinctive differences are present in genetic characters, otolith morphology, and male color pattern. Transformation of the latter was probably driven by sexual selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Loach fishes, Cobitis sp., are found in the majority of streams in the southern Caspian Sea basin, but reproductive parameters of them are barely known. Reproductive conditions are key parameters of fish populations and their assessment is very important for several reasons. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to obtain reproductive characteristics of this fish which will be a first report for the basin. Materials and methods. Sampling was done at monthly intervals throughout the year and 226 individuals of Cobitis sp., were caught from the Babolrud River in the southern Caspian Sea basin, north of Iran. Age, sex ratio, fecundity, oocytes diameter, gonadosomatic- and modified gonadosomatic indices were estimated. Regression analyses were used to find relations between fecundity and fish size (length and weight), gonad weight, and age. Results. Sex ratio differed significantly from unity, and the percentage of females was greater than that of males. The mature females and males were longer than 45 and 35 mm in total length (+2 and +1 in age, respectively). The average egg diameter was 0.58 mm. The spawning took place from beginning of May to late July, when water temperature was between 19.1 and 24.6°C. Average GSI value at the beginning of the reproduction period was 8.93% and ranged between 4% and 26% in ripe, mature females. The average of absolute and relative fecundity was calculated 2172 and 590, respectively. The absolute fecundity was significantly related to body weight and gonad weight. Conclusion. Based on the pattern of gonadosomatic index, it was concluded that this fish has a prolonged active reproductive period. Their reproduction in this basin shows some differences from other reports, which might be related to different environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]