After around a hundred years of being without any record of occurrence of Paracobitis rhadinaea, a species

of Nemacheiline loach, in Sistan basin, southeast of Iran, the year 2012 was the turning point of wild life in

this area. Twenty-five specimens were caught from Chahnimeh Reservoir, a water body adjacent to the

Hamoun Wetland in Sistan basin. Morphometric and meristic characteristics were measured

Ghaffari, M.

Gharaei, A.

Karami, R.

Mishmast, A.

Pakzad Tochaei, S.

Raeisi Azizi, M.

Rahdari, A.

Righi, M.

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 Online version is available on http://research.guilan.ac.ir/cjes  CJES  Caspian Journal of Environmental Sciences Caspian J. Env. Sci. 2013, Vol. 11 No.2, pp. 241~245 ©Copyright by University of Guilan, Printed in I.R. Iran   [Short Communication]   A New Record of Paracobitis rhadinaea (Regan, 1906)  after a Hundred Years from Sistan Basin, Southeast of Iran  A. Rahdari1*, A. Gharaei1, M. Ghaffari1, S. Pakzad Tochaei1, R. Karami1, M. Righi1, M. Raeisi Azizi2, A. Mishmast2 1- International Hamun Wetland Institute, University of Zabol, Iran.  2- Dept. of fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.    * Corresponding author’s E-mail: Rahdari57@yahoo.com  (Received:  Jan..20.2013, Accepted: May.15.2013) ABSTRACT After around a hundred years of being without any record of occurrence of Paracobitis rhadinaea, a species of Nemacheiline loach, in Sistan basin, southeast of Iran, the year 2012 was the turning point of wild life in this area. Twenty-five specimens were caught from Chahnimeh Reservoir, a water body adjacent to the Hamoun Wetland in Sistan basin. Morphometric and meristic characteristics were measured.  Keywords: Paracobitis rhadinaea, Nemacheilidae, Morphometric, Meristic, Sistan basin, Iran.  INTRODUCTIONData on presence of commercially uninteresting fishes in Sistan (southeastern Iran) are relatively poor and inadequate. Sistan is actually an 18,000-square-kilometer depression within the lower Helmand Basin. The floor of the depression, commonly called the Sistan Basin or Sistan Proper, is situated 200–300 m below the surface of the Dasht-i Margo and is occupied by the modern, arable Helmand delta and the terminal Hamouns. Three main hamouns and wetlands are situated roughly at the termini of the deltaic distributary channels (Whitney, 2006). The Hamoun wetland and their adjacent water resources are suitable environment for native fish (Boudaghpour, 2011) such as Schizothorax, Schizocypris genus and species from the Family Nemacheilidae. Fishes of the subfamily Nemacheilinae Regan (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) are small sized loaches inhabiting benthic zones of fresh, well aerated waters of Asia, Ethiopia and Europe. The group is characterized by an elongate, rounded body, a subterminal mouth, presence of prepalatine, 3 pairs of barbels; 2 rostral and 1 maxillary, 1 simple ray each in pectoral and pelvic fins, and absence of spine under or before eye (Nelson, 2006). The taxonomic history of Nemacheiline loaches from Iranian part of Sistan basin dates back to the early 19th century: Colonel Sir A. Henry McMahon, the officer of the Sistan Arbitration Commission of 1901-1904 collected fishes of Sistan, and his collection had been examined by Charles Tate Regan, former Director of the British Natural History Museum, in 1906. He found two new species out of five collected: Scaphiodon macmahoni (=Cyprinion watsoni) and Nemacheilus rhadinaea (=Paracobitis rhadinaea). In 1909  Banawari Lal Chaudhuri, Director of the Indian Museum, reported a new loach (Nemacheilus macmahoni (=Paracobitis rhadinaea) and Annandale, founder and then Director of the Zoological Survey of India, reviewed the fishes of Sistan in 1918 and Nine species were described, one of which, (Nemacheilus macmahoni), formed the basis for a new genus, Adiposia, since synonymized with Nemacheilus and now Paracobitis. (Coad, 2012). So the Paracobitis rhadinaea is one of the fishes of Sistan (Coad, 1981; Nalbant and Bianco 1998; Eschmeyer, 2004).   It is not known to what extent the species’ characteristic   A New Record of Paracobitis rhadinaea.... 242morphology reflects adaptations to its habitat, since information on its ecology and biology is absent. From 1920 until now there is no  report that the P. rhadinaea exist in Sistan basin, so our study is the first report after approximately 90 years.  MATERIALS AND METHODS  Twenty-five fish were collected by gillnetting from the Chahnimeh Reservoirs, Sistan basin, 30°76′97.17 N, 61°68′46.28 E, in the period between April and June 2012. All specimens were fixed and preserved in 4% formaldehyde solution. Measurements were made in the laboratory  using digital calipers with a precision of 0.1 mm. In addition to morphological characters used in descriptions of loach species, thirty eight morphometric characters were measured (Banarescu et al., 1972; Kottelat and Freyhof, 2007; Erk'akan et al., 2008) as  shown in Table 1.    Fig. 1. Paracobitis rhadinaea  Diagnosis: P. rhadinaea is distinguished from macmahoni by Annandale and Hora (1920) in having an extremely short posterior diverticulum and minute vesicle in the swim-bladder, by the absence of scales, a more elongate body, smaller, narrower and less flattened head, and by differences in the profile of the body. It is noted that in two samples we found one or two relatively big scale close to dorsal fin which is the indicator of P. macmahoni according to Annandale and Hora (1920), although it needs more consideration. There is a little information about P. rhadinaea biology and need more study. In some specimens, stomach contents include cyprinid fish remains. Morphometric and meristic data are presented in Table 1. Fin rays formula: D III 7-8, A II 5-6, V I 6-7, P I 8-9, C 19-22. Distribution: Based on our survey this species is probably restricted to the Sistan basin of Iran and presumably Afghanistan. Conservation: There are some endemic species in the Sistan basin. For example, the Schizothorax zarudnyi, Schizocypris altidorsalis have  commercial  importance.  Paracobitis have also environmental and biological importance in the Hamoun Wetland and its adjacent regions. Urgent actions such as habitat protection, education of local fishermen and fishing management are needed to preserve this important species (Mousavi-Sabet et al., 2013). Obviously, the special environment of Sistan provides a variety of habitats for these fish. The diverse microclimates in this area may have led to the differentiation of new species, and the area became a center for speciation (Mansoori, 1994). However, the biodiversity in this area has not received the attention it deserves, and few management or conservation efforts are being undertaken to protect it. In Iran, some hatchery experiments have been conducted to improve the stock of commercially important species, but noncommercial and recreational species remain largely ignored (Coad 1980). The species P. rhadinaea does not have any commercial value, it is not known as a distinct fish by local fishermen, and its population size, density, growth, and reproduction is unknown. Therefore, this species should be listed under the Iran Red Book of Endangered Animals, and  its natural habitats need to be protected. In protecting the species, the entire ecosystem along the Hamoun International Wetland would be conserved.   Rahdari et al.,  243   Table 1. Morphometric characters of P. rhadinaea Males (14) Females (11) Character Mean ± SD Range Mean ± SD Range Total Length TL (mm) 229.66±25.37 200.28-287.56 221±26.84 185.04-266.84 Standard Length SL (mm) 199.06±24.18 171.53-259.03 193.44±24.22 161.41-236.60 Standard Length (%)     Dorsal Fin Height 14.93±2.12 8.89-18.11 14.60±1.07 13.09-16.42 Base Of Dorsal Fin 11.86±0.68 10.94-13.07 11.77±0.65 10.60-12.84 Pectoral Fin Length 13.31±0.84 12.02-14.83 13.55±2.41 11.51-50.43 Base Of Pectoral Fin 4.22±0.43 3.45-4.73 3.92±0.33 3.48-4.63 Ventral Fin Height 12.03±0.81 11.10-13.72 11.37±0.47 10.05-12.80 Base Of Ventral Fin 3.60±0.28 3.06-4.02 3.39±0.47 2.39-4.17 Anal Fin Height 12.72±0.69 11.28-13.40 12.33±1.18 10.46-14.69 Anal Fin Base 7.51±0.76 6.46-9.48 7.26±0.43 6.72-8.21 Caudal fin length 16.47±1.66 13.05-18.63 16.10±0.94 14.29-18.13 Caudal fin length in middle 13.89±0.97 12.87-16.08 14.09±0.88 13.22-16.12 Adipose fin Height 2.17±0.52 1.43-3.09 2.31±0.49 1.71-2.98 Base of adipose Fin 34.47±2.32 30.60-39.79 34.11±2.84 30.64-38.85 Pre-dorsal length 47.97±2.71 43.85-52.75 47.56±2.28 43.18-50.14 Pre-adipose length 65.72±3.32 61.02-71.46 65.00±2.98 60.03-69.26 Pre-ventral length 53.15±3.14 49.81-59.80 52.11±2.88 47.51-56.04 Pre-anal length 75.77±4.04 71.87-86.72 74.35±2.29 70.37-77.66 Pre-anus length 69.07±4.14 65.45-79.40 68.10±2.13 65.54-71.30 Lateral line length 79.37±4.96 74.82-92.53 79.6±1.73 77.50-83.62 Body Depth at anal Fin 9.96±1.08 8.02-11.90 9.89±0.99 8.68-11.90 Body Depth at dorsal 15.81±2.62 10.64-20.02 16.26±2.58 12.39-20.03 Body Width 15.37±0.99 13.56-16.98 16.16±2.08 11.72-18.34 Caudal Peduncle length 16.78±1.81 14.10-20.32 16.80±1.66 14.97-20.05 Caudal Peduncle height 8.26±0.81 6.80-10.01 8.03±0.92 7.06-10.43 Head length (mm) 44.99±6.59 34.41-60.28 44.02±5.82 36.16-54.66 Head Length (%)     Head height at nape 47.19±4.35 40.45-56.55 45.13±2.72 40.86-49.41 Head height at eye 38.44±3.96 33.08-43.79 36.47±1.50 33.75-38.38 Head width 66.33±5.41 60.67-80.59 65.69±4.28 59.06-70.99 Eye diameter 3.75±0.51 2.91-4.62 3.54±0.36 2.91-4.18 Snout length 45.55±3.44 39.79-53.85 44.21±2.58 37.45-46.84 Dorsal length Of Head 78.99±9.02 61.25-99.77 80.94±2.41 77.16-85.54 Postorbital length 50.85±4.31 47.19-62.02 49.05±1.82 46.69-51.59 Inter-orbital length 26.66±2.57 23.01-31.75 25.63±1.21 23.84-27.72 Upper Jaw length 35.15±3.18 31.28-42.23 34.12±3.73 30.12-44.30 First Barbell length 24.73±3.99 20.04-33.33 21.86±2.82 16.97-27.43 Second Barbell length 26.03±4.66 18.46-34.58 23.90±4.21 18.53-32.25 Third Barbell length 30.44±3.54 26.10-37.09 29.54±6.47 23.80-47.74      A New Record of Paracobitis rhadinaea.... 244  REFERENCES  Annandale, N. and Hora, S. L (1920) The fish of Seistan. Records of the Indian Museum, 18:151-203, pls. XV-XVII (includes: - Appendix. Note on the fisheries of the delta of the Helmand and on the use of shaped rafts of bulrushes in India and Seistan, by N. Annandale).  Bănărescu, P. M. and Nalbant, T. T (1995) A generical classification of Nemacheilinae with description of two new genera (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitidae). Travaux du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa, Bucurešti, 35:429-496.  Banarescu, P., Nalbant T.T. and Chelmu, S (1972) Revision and geographical variation of Sabanejewia aurata in Romania and the origin of S. bulgarica and S. romanica (Pisces, Cobitidae). Annotationes Zoologicae et Botanicae Bratislava, 75: 49. Boudaghpour, S (2011) Arid Season Affecting Hamun Lake in South East Iran Water, Fishing and Agriculture Crisis. International Conference on Food Engineering and Biotechnology. IACSIT Press, Singapoore. Coad B.W (1980) Environmental change and its impact on the freshwater fishes of Iran. Biological Conservation, 19 (1): 51–80. Coad, B.W (1981) Fishes of Afghanistan, an annotated check-list. Publication Zoology Natural Museum Canadian. 14:23p. Coad, B. W (2012) Freshwater Fishes of Iran. http://www.briancoad.com.  Chaudhuri, B. L (1909) Descriptions of new species of Botia and Nemachilus. Records of the Indian Museum, 3:339-342.   Erk'akan, F., S.C. Ozeren and Nalbant, T.T (2008) Cobitis evreni sp. Nova-A New Spined loach Species (Cobitidae) from the Southern Turkey. Journal of Fisheries International, 3(4): 112-114. Eschmeyer, W.N (2004) Catalog of fishes. Updated database version of January 2004. Catalog databases as made available to FishBase in January 2004. Fowler, H. W. and Steinitz, H(1956) Fishes from Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Oman. Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, 5B:260-292. Kottelat, M. and Freyhof, J (2007) Handbook of European Freshwater Fishes. Kottelat, Cornol, Switzerland and Freyhof, Berlin, Germany, 646 pp. Mansoori, J (1994) The Hamoun Wildlife Refuge. Heidelberg: Max Kasparek Verlag: 1-57. Mousavi-Sabet, H., Gharaei, A. and Ghaffari, M (2013) Threatened fishes of the world: Paracobitis rhadinaeus (Regan, 1906) (Nemacheilidae). Croatian Journal of Fisheries, 71: 87-89. Nalbant, T.T. and Bianco, P.G (1998) The loaches of Iran and adjacent regions with description of six new species (Cobitoidea). Italian Journal of Zoology, 65:109-125. Nelson, J.S (2006) Fishes of the world. 4th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 141:622 pp. Nikol'skii, G. V (1947) Gol'tsy besstochnykh vodoemov Turkmenii [The loaches of the inland waters of Turkmenia]. Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva Ispytatelei Prirody, Otdel Biologii, 52(3):29-34.  Whitney, J.W (2006) Geology, water, and wind in the lower Helmand Basin, southern Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5182, 40 p.          Rahdari et al.,  245پس از صد سال از حوضه   (Paracobitis rhadinaea (Regan, 1906گزارش جدید  سیستان، جنوب شرقی ایران   . رئیسی عزیزی، ا. ریگی، م. کرمی، م. پاکزاد توچایی، ر. غفاری، س. قرایی، م. ، ا*راهداری . ع  میش مست   پژوهشکده بین المللی تاالب هامون، دانشگاه زابل، زابل، ایران -1 ه محیط زیست، دانشکده منابع طبیعی، دانشگاه زابل، زابل، ایرانگرو -2   )25/2/92: پذیرش تاریخ -   1/11/91: دریافت تاریخ(    چکیدهدر منطقه سیستان پس Nemacheilidae متعلق به رفتگر ماهیان خانواده Paracobitis rhadinaeaگزارش وجود گونه  نمونه ماهی مذکور از 25در این مطالعه تعداد . این منطقه محسوب می شوداز حدود یکصد سال، نقطه عطفی در حیات وحش حوضه سیستان می باشد صید گردید و خصوصیات در چاه نیمه های سیستان که یک منبع آبی در مجاورت تاالب هامون   .و مریستیک آنها اندازه گیری شد) ریخت شناسی( مورفومتریک    مولف مسئول*

A New Record of Paracobitis rhadinaea (Regan, 1906) after a Hundred Years from Sistan Basin, Southeast of Iran

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A New Record of Paracobitis rhadinaea (Regan, 1906) after a Hundred Years from Sistan Basin, Southeast of Iran

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