Garra roseae, a new species from the Makran region in southern Iran (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Garra roseae, new species, is described from the stream Tang-e-Sarhe in the Iranian Makran region. It is distinguished from its congeners in the Middle East by lacking barbels, having a small mental disc, 42-58 total scales along the lateral line, 24-30 scales along the predorsal midline, and 20-24 circumpeduncular scales. It is further characterised by having five diagnostic nucleotide substitutions and a minimum K2P distance of 5.39% to G. rossica and 5.49% to G. nudiventris in the mtDNA COI barcode region. Garra phryne from eastern Iran is considered to be a synonym of G. nudiventris.We are pleased to thank the University of Guilan for financial support

Developmental morphology and growth patterns of laboratory-reared giraffe cichlid, Nimbochromis venustus Boulenger, 1908

The giraffe cichlid Nimbochromis venustus Boulenger, 1908 is a well-known species in aquarium trade. The laboratory-reared electric giraffe cichlid was studied in terms of early morphological development and allometric growth pattern from hatching until the juvenile stage i.e.51 dph. Total length increased linearly from hatching until 51 dph, with a high regression coefficient. The yolk sac exhaustion completed throughout 15 days. Significant morphological and morphometric variations occurred before the yolk sac absorption and early juvenile stage by evolving the anterior and posterior body section which improve swimming ability and food capturing. Positive growth coefficient of the body and trunk lengths were occurred after inflexion point coinciding with development of digestive system function. Eye diameter showed negative allometry at the inflexion point of 9.3 mm, continuing with positive growth rate until day 51. Body shape variation in early life history revealed consequent development in anterior and posterior body section in preflexion phase and development of body and trunk length in post flexion phase to support high survival of larvae. The present study emphasizes ontogenic study of different species to interpret biology and ecology of fish in association with evolutionary biology

Body shape variation of Garra rufa (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) populations in the Tigris basin in Iran using geometric morphometric analysis

Geometric morphometric method was used to examine the body shape variations among the six populations of Garra rufa, in Iranian part of Tigris basin. A total of 15 landmark-points was used for 170 specimens to hypothesize population differentiation of G. rufa in the six rivers and reservoir. In discriminant function analysis, 85.9% of original grouped cases correctly classified. Principal component analysis (PCA) and canonical variates analysis (CVA) confirmed the significant difference between the populations. The results revealed that the studied populations are divided into three clades based on differences in body depth, caudal peduncle length, backward moving of anal fin. Caudal peduncle showed shortening trend in five populations. Narrower body shape was dominated among specimens of four regions. Studies on body shape provide supporting data on fisheries, stock management, and conservative programs

Garra rezai, a new species from two widely disjunct areas in the Tigris drainage (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Garra rezai, new species, is described from the Chooman, a tributary of the Lesser Zab in Iran, and from headwaters of the Yanarsu, a tributary of the upper Tigris in Turkey. It is distinguished from its congeners in the Garra variabilis species group by having two pairs of barbels, a well-developed mental disc, 35-40 total scales along the lateral line, 15-19 scales along the predorsal midline, and 15-18 circumpeduncular scales. It is further characterised by having ten diagnostic nucleotide substitutions and the K2P genetic distances with the closest species i.e. G. klatti, G. kemali and G. variabilis as 11.9, 12.0, and 13.7%, respectively in the mtDNA COI barcode region

Descriptive osteology of Garra rossica (Nikolskii, 1900)

To describe the osteological structure of the Garra rossica, ten specimens were collected from the Mashkid Basin, Iran. After fixation into 10% buffered formalin, they were cleared and stained for osteological examination. Then its detailed osteological description was provided and compared with the available congeners in the genus Garra and other cyprinids. Based on the results, some differences have been found in different bones, including neurocranium, upper and lower jaws, pectoral and pelvic girdles, dorsal, anal and caudal fins skeleton, and circumorbital series