Distribution and diversity of fish from Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes river systems

Esra Bayçelebi

doi:10.3897/zse.96.55837

Research Article

Distribution and diversity of fish from Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes river systems

Esra Bayçelebi^‡

‡ Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey

Corresponding author: Esra Bayçelebi ( doganeesra@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Nicolas Hubert

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Bayçelebi E (2020) Distribution and diversity of fish from Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes river systems. Zoosystematics and Evolution 96(2): 747-767. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.96.55837

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:356316BA-35E2-4C23-9948-AAC57E64B958

Abstract

In this study, the current ichthyofauna of the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes River drainages were presented and actual taxonomic positions of the species were assessed. Sixty-seven species belonging to 32 genera and 17 families of fishes were reported from these river drainages in Turkey and Syria. Acanthobrama centisquama and Tinca tinca could not be observed in the study area and Alburnus sellal and Esox lucius are recorded for the first time respectively in the Lake Gölbaşı (connected to the Ceyhan River) and Seyhan River.

Key Words

Freshwater fish, ichthyology, Syria, taxonomy, Turkey

Introduction

The Orontes, Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers are some of the largest rivers in the northern Mediterranean Sea. The Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers form Turkey’s largest delta plain, the Çukurova. These three river basins are host to many endemic species. Three of them can only be found in the Seyhan, seven of them only in the Ceyhan, and ten of them only in the Orontes. Their contribution to biodiversity is, without doubt, considerable. Several studies have been conducted on the distribution or/and taxonomy of fish species inhabited in the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes rivers. Bostancı (2006) conducted the first ichthyofaunistic study in the area and revised the fish of these three rivers, after which Dağlı (2008) investigated only two northeastern tributaries of the Orontes River (streams Kınacık and Afrin). Kara et al. (2010) examined the fish of the upper and middle parts of the Ceyhan River. Erk’akan and Özdemir (2011) studied the fish of the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers. Alagöz Ergüden and Göksu (2012) studied the fish in the Seyhan Dam Lake and Özcan (2013) researched a study on the ichthyofauna of the Orontes River. A recent study by İnal (2020) reported on the fish diversity and abundance in the Seyhan River estuary (Table 2). A comprehensive study has not yet reached the Orontes River in Syria. Unlike the research above, Geiger et al. (2014) conducted a comprehensive genetic study of the freshwater fish of the Mediterranean basin. Consequently showing different data.

Taxonomic problems have continued to increase while different researchers have conducted faunistic studies related to these rivers (e.g. identifies incorrectly or misrecords the species, see Table 2). This study aims to eliminate these ambiguities and reveal the actual taxonomic status of the species in the area; in addition, the rate of endemism in the region is determined.

Materials and methods

Study area

The Ceyhan River originates from Pınarbaşı Village (Kahramanmaraş prov.). It forms a wide delta in Çukurova and pours into the Gulf of İskenderun in the Mediterranean Sea. Its main tributaries are the Söğütlü, Hurman, Göksun, Mağra Gözü, Fırnız, Tekir, Körsulu and Aksu streams. The Seyhan River has two important tributaries: the long one is the stream Zamantı, which originates from Uzun plateau (Kayseri prov.). This water flows in the direction of the stretch of the Middle Taurus Mountains (Tahtalı Mountains), merges with the Göksu that is the second tributary of the Seyhan, and pours from Adana into the Mediterranean Sea. The Orontes is a transboundary river, which originates from the eastern part of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, then through into Syria and flows into the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ, Turkey.

Data collection and analyses

All the materials collected from the Seyhan and Ceyhan were gathered in Turkey, while the Orontes materials were collected from Syria and Turkey. The fish were caught from 82 sampling sites by using Samus 1000 pulsed DC electro-fishing equipment, cast net and gill net (Figs 1, 10, Table 1). After anaesthesia, fish samples were fixed in 4% formaldehyde and transferred to the laboratory for classifying the species level. Nomenclature and taxonomy almost all followed Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes (Fricke et al. 2020) except for Capoeta turani (Kaya 2019). Common and Turkish names of the species were provided by FishBase (Froese and Pauly 2020). The names recommended in this study were denoted by an asterisk (*) at the end of the name. The global conservation status of the species was provided by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2020). The species photos were shown in Figs 2–9. The dataset was visualised using the open-source Geographic Information System QGIS version 3.8 (Zanzibar, 2019).

Figure 1.

Map of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey and Syria with sampling points.

Abbreviations:

FFR Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Zoology Museum of the Faculty of Fisheries, Rize.

FSJF Fischsammlung J. Freyhof, Berlin.

Results

With this study, 18 species belonging to the family Leuciscidae were listed, followed by Cyprinidae with 12 species, Salmonidae with 5 species, Cobitidae and Aphanidae with 5 species, Cichlidae with 2 species, Mugilidae with 2 and Anguillidae, Blenniidae, Poeciliidae, Atherinidae, Esocidae, Clariidae, Bagridae and Siluridae with 1 species. The highest species diversity among these three river systems was observed in the Orontes (32 species), followed by Seyhan (29 species) and Ceyhan (27 species). According to data presented in this study, Capoeta damascina, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Squalius kottelati and Atherina boyeri are the species that are present in all three rivers.

Table 1.

Download as

CSV

XLSX

List of sampling locations, coordinates and the fish species recorded.

No	Sampling Site	Coordinates	Geographic information	Observed Species
Orontes River
1	Lake Balık	36.5081, 36.4948	Turkey, Hatay prov.: Lake Balık at Kırıkhan	Anguilla anguilla, Capoeta barroisi, Carasobarbus chantrei, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Chondrostoma kinzelbachi, Pseudophoxinus libani, Mystus pelusius, Planiliza abu, Coptodon zillii
2	Stream Söğütlüöz	36.6117, 36.4404	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Söğütlüöz at Kırıkhan	Anguilla anguilla, Carasobarbus chantrei, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus orontis, Squalius kottelati, Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
3	Orontes River-I	36.0974, 36.0785	Turkey, Hatay prov.: Orontes River-I at Sinanlı	Anguilla anguilla, Capoeta damascina, Carasobarbus chantrei, Carassius gibelio, Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus orontis, Chondrostoma kinzelbachi, Pseudophoxinus zeregi, Pseudophoxinus libani, Squalius kottelati, Cobitis anabelae, Gambusia holbrooki, Paraphanius orontis
4	Stream Afrin-I	36.8061, 36.9821	Turkey, Kilis prov.: stream Afrin-I 15 km northwest of Kilis 36.8061 36.9821.	Capoeta barroisi, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus magnificus, Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Planiliza abu
5	Stream Afrin-II	36.8133, 36.9837	Turkey, Kilis prov.: stream Afrin-II about 16 km west of Kilis	Capoeta damascina, Acanthobrama thisbeae, Alburnus magnificus, Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
6	Stream Afrin-III	36.3080, 36.5350	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Afrin-III at northeastern Reyhanlı	Alburnus orontis, Cobitis anabelae, Clarias gariepinus, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Gambusia holbrooki, Planiliza abu
7	Stream Bedirge	36.3710, 36.1938	Hatay prov.: stream Afrin-III at northeastern Reyhanlı	Alburnus magnificus, Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
8	Stream Karasu-I	37.0306, 36.7064	Turkey, Gaziantep prov.: stream Karasu-I at İslahiye (upper Tahtaköprü Dam)	Anguilla anguilla, Carasobarbus chantrei, Carassius gibelio, Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Alburnus orontis, Chondrostoma kinzelbachi, Cobitis anabelae, Clarias gariepinus, Atherina boyeri
9	Stream Karasu-II	36.8520, 36.6861,	Turkey, Gaziantep prov.: stream Karasu-II at İslahiye (below Tahtaköprü Dam)	Capoeta barroisi, Capoeta damascina, Carasobarbus chantrei, Carassius gibelio, Cyprinus carpio, Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Luciobarbus pectoralis, Pseudophoxinus turani, Squalius kottelati, Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Atherina boyeri, Gambusia holbrooki
10	Stream Karasu-III	36.9864, 36.7046	Turkey, Gaziantep prov.: stream Karasu-III at İslahiye	Alburnus orontis, Pseudophoxinus turani, Squalius kottelati
11	Stream Karasu-IV	36.4653, 36.3803	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Karasu-IV about 4 km south of Kırıkhan	Garra sp., Alburnus orontis, Cobitis anabelae, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Planiliza abu
12	Tahtaköprü Dam	36.8743, 36.6923	Turkey, Gaziantep prov.: the lower part of Tahtaköprü Dam Lake at İslahiye	Chondrostoma kinzelbachi, Squalius kottelati
13	Stream Büyükara	36.1355, 36.0422,	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Büyükkara at Karaçay	Capoeta damascina, Garra sp., Alburnus magnificus, Pseudophoxinus zeregi, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Gambusia holbrooki
14	Stream İncesu	36.7932, 36.5137	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream İncesu at Hassa	Capoeta damascina, Pseudophoxinus turani
15	Stream Hanne	36.2072, 36.1236	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Hanne 3 km west of Antakya	Anguilla anguilla, Pseudophoxinus zeregi, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Clarias gariepinus
16	Stream Serinyol	36.3655, 36.2138	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Serinyol at Serinyol	Capoeta damascina, Garra sp., Gambusia holbrooki
17	Stream Yıldırım	36.3662, 36.1811	Turkey, Hatay prov.: stream Yıldırım at Serinyol	Capoeta damascina, Alburnus magnificus, Garra sp., Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, Clarias gariepinus, Coptodon zillii, Chelon sp.
18	Lake Qattinah-I	34.6619, 36.6183	Syria, Lake Qattinah-I southeast of Homs	Capoeta barroisi, Capoeta damascina, Carasobarbus chantrei, Garra sp., Luciobarbus pectoralis, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
19	Lake Qattinah-II	34.5939, 36.5336	Syria, Lake Qattinah-II at Al Gassaneyah	Pseudophoxinus libani, Paraphanius mento
20	Orontes River-II	35.2717, 36.5628	Syria, Orontes River-II at Shayzar	Garra caudomaculata, Garra variabilis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Paraphanius mento
21	Orontes River-III	35.9444, 36.4025	Syria, Orontes River-III at north of Ain al Zarqa	Carasobarbus chantrei, Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Alburnus orontis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Cobitis anabelae, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
22	Orontes River-IV	35.9508, 36.3958	Syria, River Orontes-IV at Mashr’a al Bouz	Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Alburnus orontis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Paraphanius mento
23	Orontes River-V	34.0764, 36.8431	Syria, Orontes River-V at Jinan	Garra sp.
24	Orontes River-VI	34.5086, 36.5389	Syria, Orontes River-VI at Jinan	Alburnus orontis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
25	Orontes River-VII	34.9333, 36.7333	Syria, Orontes River-VII at roadside north of Homs (fish market)	Leuciscus vorax
26	Stream Al Dawwar	35.4697, 36.2531	2713 Syria, stream Al Dawwar South of Haydariyeh	Oxynoemacheilus namiri
27	Nahr‘Ifrin River	36.6172, 36.8608	Syria, Nahr‘Ifrin River below reservoir north of Afrin	Pseudophoxinus zeregi, Oxynoemacheilus namiri
28	Spring Al Fawwar	35.5333, 36.2528	Syria, spring Al Fawwar north of Mashta Bayth Darwish	Garra caudomaculata, Pseudophoxinus libani
29	Lake Shadha	35.5253, 36.2536	Syria, Lake Shadha	Garra caudomaculata, Garra sp., Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Planiliza abu
30	Stream Nahr al-Barid	35.3022, 36.3453	Syria, stream Nahr al Barid at Nahr al Barid	Garra caudomaculata, Garra variabilis, Alburnus orontis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Pseudophoxinus zeregi, Cobitis levantina, Oxynoemacheilus namiri, Paraphanius orontis
31	Spring south of Qala’at	35.3303, 36.3106	Syria, spring south of Qala’at al Jarras	Garra caudomaculata, Carasobarbus chantrei, Garra sp., Garra. variabilis, Pseudophoxinus libani, Paraphanius mento, Sarotherodon galilaeus, Tristramella simonis
Seyhan River
32	Stream Ecemiş	37.8767, 34.9254	Turkey, Niğde prov.: stream Ecemiş at Çamardı	Salmo labecula
33	Stream Üçürgesuyu-I	37.2611, 35.0671	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Üçürgesuyu-I at Karaisali	Capoeta damascina, Capoeta erhani, Garra culiciphaga, Garra turcica, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Squalius adanaensis, Cobitis aliyeae, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Salaria fluviatilis
34	Stream Üçürgesuyu-II	37.1385, 35.1422	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Üçürgesuyu-II at Karaisali	Luciobarbus pectoralis, Squalius adanaensis
35	Stream Üçürgesuyu-III	37.2750, 35.0610	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Üçürgesuyu-III at western Çakallı	Alburnus kotschyi, Squalius adanaensis
36	Stream Üçürgesuyu-IV	37.1390, 35.1423	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Üçürgesuyu-IV the lower part of Ecemiş stream east of Salbaş	Squalius adanaensis, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus
37	Stream Üçürgesuyu-V	37.1890, 35.1010	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Üçürge-V at Çakallı	Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola
38	Stream Eğlence	37.3050, 35.2201	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Eğlence 1 km northeast of Eğlence	Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Garra turcica, Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola, Salaria fluviatilis, Luciobarbus pectoralis
39	Stream Çakıtsuyu-I	37.1032, 35.1094	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Çakıtsuyu-I at Salbaş	Capoeta damascina, Capoeta erhani, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola, Salaria fluviatilis
40	Stream Çakıtsuyu-II	37.0961, 35.1170	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Çakıtsuyu-II, south of Salbaş, the lower part of Pozantı Stream	Capoeta damascina, Garra turcica, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus kotschyi, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Squalius adanaensis, Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Salaria fluviatilis
41	Stream Çakıtsuyu-III	37.5072, 34.7904	Turkey, Niğde prov.: stream Çakıtsuyu-III between Ulukışla and Pozantı, about 1 km east of Çiftehan	Capoeta damascina
42	Spring Karahalka	38.8857, 36.8194	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: Kayseri prov.: spring Karahalka at Karahalka, Pınarbaşı	Pseudophoxinus firati
43	Stream Zamantı-I	38.6559, 36.4485	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Zamantı-I south of Aşağıbeyçayırı, south of Pınarbaşı	Capoeta damascina, Squalius seyhanensis, Salmo platycephalus
44	Stream Zamantı-II	38.7366, 36.4131	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Zamantı-II at Pınarbaşı	Squalius seyhanensis, Oxynoemacheilus samanticus, Oxynoemacheilus seyhanensis
45	a tributry to Zamantı	38.5935, 36.4299	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: a tributary to Zamantı stream between Sarız and Pınarbaşı	Capoeta damascina, Squalius seyhanensis
46	Stream Pınarbaşı	38.6204, 36.4397	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Pınarbaşı at Pınarbaşı	Salmo platycephalus
47	Stream Kışla	38.6434, 35.1436	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Kışla at İncesu	Squalius seyhanensis, Atherina boyeri
48	Stream Şıvgın	38.6606, 36.0581	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Şıvgın at Bünyan	Esox lucius
49	Stream Karagöz	38.7570, 36.4590	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Karagöz at Pınarbaşı	Squalius seyhanensis, Esox lucius
50	Stream Sarız	38.4930, 36.5040	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Sarız at Sarız	Squalius seyhanensis
51	Stream Sarnaz	38.1950, 35.7810	Turkey, Kayseri prov.: stream Sarnaz at southern Taşçı	Oxynoemacheilus samanticus, Garra turcica
52	Seyhan Dam Lake	37.0414, 35.3333	Turkey, Adana prov.: Seyhan Dam Lake	Cyprinus carpio, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Silurus glanis, Sander lucioperca, Acanthobrama orontis, Squalius kottelati, Oncorhynchus mykiss
53	River Seyhan	36.9757, 35.3354	Adana prov.: River Seyhan below water regulation doors at Yüreyir, south of Adana	Garra culiciphaga, Acanthobrama orontis, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Pseudophoxinus cilicicus, Cobitis aliyeae, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Paraphanius similis
54	Stream Körkün-I	37.2940, 35.1550	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Körkün-I at Hacılı	Garra turcica, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Cobitis aliyeae
55	Stream Körkün-II	37.1529, 35.1606	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Körkün-II at Karakuyu	Capoeta damascina, Garra turcica, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Squalius adanaensis, Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola
Ceyhan River
56	Lake Gölbaşı	37.7981, 37.6616	Turkey, Adıyaman prov.: Lake Gölbaşı at Gölbaşı	Alburnus sellal, Pseudophoxinus zekayi, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Atherina boyeri
57	Stream Aksu-I	37.4896, 36.8949	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu-I at Onikişubat	Capoeta damascina, Capoeta erhani, Garra turcica, Squalius kottelati, Planiliza abu
58	Stream Aksu-II	37.5253, 37.3119	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu-II at Pazarcık (upper Kartalkaya Dam	Capoeta damascina, Garra culiciphaga, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus kotschyi, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Salaria fluviatilis
Ceyhan River
59	Stream Aksu-III	37.5390, 37.3480	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu-III at Pazarcık	Capoeta damascina, Capoeta erhani, Garra turcica, Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Salaria fluviatilis
60	Stream Aksu-IV	37.4452, 37.0207	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu-IV at Dulkadiroğlu	Pseudophoxinus firati
61	Stream Aksu-V	37.4690, 37.2310	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Aksu-Vat Pazarcık (below Kartalkaya Dam)	Squalius kottelati
62	Stream Aksu-VI	37.7904, 37.6263	Turkey, Adıyaman prov.: stream Aksu-VI connecting Lakes Gölbaşı and Azaplı south of Gölbaşı	Cobitis erkakanae, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Paraphanius boulengeri
63	StreamTekir	37.8481, 36.6417	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Tekir above dam at Tekir, north of Kahramanmaraş	Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Salmo opimus
64	Stream Göksun-I (Terbüzek)	38.0317, 36.4736	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Göksun-I (Terbüzek) about 2 km north of Göksun	Alburnus kotschyi, Pseudophoxinus firati, Cobitis evreni, Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Salmo opimus
65	Stream Göksun-II (Terbüzek)	38.0015, 36.4984	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Göksun-II (Terbüzek) at 7 km south of Göksun	Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis
66	Stream Akçasu	37.1746, 36.5065	Turkey, Osmaniye prov.: stream Akçasu about 5 km north Kalecik	Capoeta damascina, Garra turcica
67	Stream Fırnız	37.8787, 36.5984	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Tekir above dam at Tekir, north of Kahramanmaraş	Salmo opimus
68	Stream Kayaözü (Fırnız)	37.7588, 36.6940	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Kayaözü (Fırnız)	Capoeta damascina, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Salmo opimus
69	Stream Karasu	37.0606, 36.1122	Turkey, Osmaniye prov.: stream Karasu at Toprakkale	Alburnus kotschyi, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Salaria fluviatilis, Pseudophoxinus cilicicus
70	Stream Çelik	37.6239, 37.5034	Turkey, Adıyaman prov.: stream Çelik at road south of Gölbaşı	Capoeta damascina, Alburnus kotschyi, Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus
71	a tributary to Ceyhan River-I	37.2215, 36.0471	Turkey, Osmaniye prov.: a tributary of Ceyhan River-I between Tecirli and Kadirli north of Koçyurdu	Capoeta damascina, Capoeta erhani, Pseudophoxinus cilicicus, Cobitis aliyeae, Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis
72	a tributary to Ceyhan River-II	37.1247, 36.0486	Turkey, Adana prov.: a tributary of Ceyhan River-II at Tatarlı Village	Garra culiciphaga, Gambusia holbrooki
73	Ceyhan River	37.1933, 36.0828	Turkey, Osmaniye prov.: Ceyhan River at north of Sakarcılık Village (fish market)	Luciobarbus pectoralis, Acanthobrama orontis, Acanthobrama thisbeae, Chondrostoma ceyhanensis, Pseudophoxinus zekayi, Squalius kottelati
74	Stream Geçit	37.6127, 36.6501	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Geçit on road from Kahramanmaraş to Andırın	Capoeta erhani
75	Spring Çöçelli	37.2812, 37.1248	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: Spring Çöçelli north of Çöçelli	Garra culiciphaga, Pseudophoxinus zekayi, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, Gambusia holbrooki, Paraphanius alexandri
76	Spring Evri	37.2662, 37.1018	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: Spring Evri south-west of Çöçelli	Garra culiciphaga, Alburnus kotschyi, Pseudophoxinus zekayi, Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus
77	Stream Söğütlü (Sevdili)	38.2546, 37.5330	Turkey, Kahramanmaraş prov.: stream Söğütlü 40 km east of Elbistan 38.2546 37.5330.	Capoeta damascina, Garra turcica, Alburnus kotschyi, Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis, Oxynoemacheilus evreni
78	Sır Dam Lake	37.5011, 36.5955	Turkey, Adana prov.: Sır Dam Lake, Ceyhan River	Silurus glanis
79	Stream Savrun	37.3731, 36.0925	Turkey, Osmaniye prov.: stream Savrun at Kadirli	Garra turcica, Luciobarbus pectoralis, Alburnus kotschyi, Squalius kottelati
80	Stream Köprüağzı	37.6375, 36.6272	Turkey, Karamanmaraş prov.: stream Köprüağzı upper Sır Dam	Garra turcica
81	Stream Hurman	38.5966, 36.9011	Turkey, Sivas prov.: stream Hurman (Akdere) at Akdere Village	Salmo chilo
82	Stream Deliçay	37.3152, 35.8834	Turkey, Adana prov.: stream Deliçay 20 km southwest of Kadirli	Pseudophoxinus zekayi, Oxynoemacheilus evreni, Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis

Family Anguillidae Rafinesque, 1815

Anguilla anguilla (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common local names

Avrupa yılan balığı / European eel.

Conservation

Critically Endangered (CR).

Material Examined

FFR 02360 St. 1., – FFR 02361 St. 2., – FFR 02365 St. 3., – Not preserved St. 8., – FFR uncat. St. 15.

Distribution in the area

This species is found in the Orontes River drainages and Lake Balık in Turkey. It was also reported in the Ceyhan River (Kara et al. 2010; Erk’akan and Özdemir 2011).

Figure 2.

Cyprinidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey and Syria. a. Capoeta barroisi, stream Karasu-II; b. C. damascina, stream Karasu-II; c. C. erhani, stream Aksu-III; d. Carasobarbus chantrei, Lake Balık; e. Carassius gibelio, stream Karasu-II; f. Cyprinus carpio, stream Karasu-II; g. Garra caudomaculata stream Karasu-I; h. G. culiciphaga, stream Aksu-II; i. Garra sp. Stream Hanne; j. G. turcica, stream Üçürgesuyu-I; k. G. variabilis, stream Nahr al Barid photo: JF; l. Luciobarbus pectoralis, stream Aksu-II.

Figure 3.

Leuciscidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey. a. Acanthobrama orontis, Seyhan Dam Lake; b. A. thisbeae, stream Afrin; c. Alburnus kotschyi, stream Üçürgesuyu-III; d. A. magnificus, stream Bedirge; e. A. orontis, stream Karasu-II; f. A. sellal, Lake Gölbaşı; g. Chondrostoma kinzelbachi, stream Karasu-I; h. C. ceyhanensis, stream Karasu-V; i. Leuciscus vorax, Orontes River-VII photo: JF; j. Pseudophoxinus cilicicus, stream Karasu-V; k. P. firati, spring Karahalka; l. P. libani, Lake Balık; m P. turani, stream İncesu; n. P. zekayi, Lake Gölbaşı; o. P. zeregi, stream Hanne; p. Squalius adanaensis, stream Üçürgesuyu-I; r. S. seyhanensis, stream Zamantı-II; s. S. kottelati; stream Karasu-II.

Figure 4.

Cobitidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey and Syria. a. Cobitis aliyeae, stream Üçürgesuyu-I; b. C. anabelae, stream Karasu-I; c. C. erkakanae, stream Aksu-IV, connecting Lakes Gölbaşı photo: JF; d. C. evreni, stream Göksun-I; e. C. levantina, stream Nahr al Barid photo: JF.

Family Cyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815

Capoeta barroisi Lortet, 1894

Common names

Benekli Asi sirazı / Orontes scraper.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 01725 St. 1., – FSJF 2455 St. 1., – FFR 01890 St. 4., – FFR 01888 St. 9., – FSJF 2364 St. 9., – FSJF 2704 St. 18.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Balık and Qattinah-I Lake basins in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Taxonomic note

See the taxonomic note of Capoeta erhani.

Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842)

Common names

Şam sirazı / Damascus scraper.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2423 St. 3., – FSJF 2914 St. 5., – FFR 01887 St. 9., – FSJF 2352 St. 9., – FSJF 2301 St. 13., – FSJF 2275 St. 14., – FFR 01881 St. 16., – FSJF 2436 St. 17., – FSJF 2705 St. 18., – FFR 01886 St. 33., – FFR 01956 St. 39., – FSJF 2330 St. 40., – FSJF 2367 St. 41., – FSJF 2540 St. 43., – FSJF 2896 St. 45., – FSJF 2374 St. 55., – FFR 01879 St. 57., – FFR 01953 St. 58., – FFR 01884 St. 59., – FFR 01880 St. 66., – FFR 01882 St. 68., – FSJF 2571 St. 70., – FSJF 2966 St. 71., – FSJF 2899 St. 77.

Distribution in the area

Orontes, Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey and Lake Qattinah-I in Syria. It was also reported from the Euphrates River (Kaya 2019).

Capoeta erhani Turan, Kottelat & Ekmekçi, 2008

Common names

Benekli Akdeniz sirazı* / Mediterranean scraper*.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 01885 St. 33., – FFR 01955 St. 39., – FFR 01878 St. 57., – FFR 01883 St. 59., – FFR 01952 St. 59., – FSJF 2968 St. 71., – FSJF 2456 St. 74.

Distribution in the area

Ceyhan River drainages and streams Çakıtsuyu-I, Üçürgesuyu-I (Seyhan River) in Turkey.

Taxonomic note

Erk’akan and Özdemir (2011) and Özdemir (2013) emphasised that Capoeta turani (Seyhan) and C. erhani (Ceyhan) are synonyms of C. barroisi (Orontes); even Özdemir (2013) claimed that C. barroisi is a synonym of C. trutta (Tigris-Euphrates). Recent molecular (Levin et al. 2012; Bektaş et al. 2017; 2019) and morphological (Kaya 2019) data showed that C. erhani, C. barroisi and C. trutta are valid species, although they suggest that C. turani may be the synonym of C. turani. A detailed morphological examination is needed to clarify the taxonomic status of C. turani.

Carasobarbus chantrei (Sauvage, 1882)

Common names

Asi himrisi* / Orontes himri*.

Conservation

Near Threatened (NT).

Material examined

FFR 00400 St. 1., – FFR 00427 St. 2., – FFR uncat., St. 3., – FFR uncat., St. 8., – FFR 00407 St. 9., – FSJF 2311 St. 9., – FSJF 2706 St. 18., – FSJF 2676 St. 21., – FSJF 2662 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Balık and Qattinah-I Lake basins in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782)

Common names

Havuz balığı / Prussian carp.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR uncat St. 3., – FFR uncat., St. 8., – FFR 00407 St. 9.

Distribution in the area

This species is found in the Orontes River drainages. It was also recorded from the Seyhan River (Erk’akan and Özdemir 2011; Ergüden Alagöz and Göksu 2012); even so, it was not observed in the Seyhan during the surveys.

Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758

Common names

Adi sazan / Common carp.

Conservation

Vulnerable (VU).

Material examined

FFR 02750 St. 9., – Not preserved St. 52.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Seyhan Dam Lake in Turkey. It was also recorded in the Ceyhan River (Kara et al. 2010).

Garra caudomaculata (Battalgil, 1942)

Common names

Altın saz balığı* / Golden minnow.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2433 St. 3., – FFR 04032 St. 8., – FFR 04031 St. 9., – FSJF 2655 St. 20., – FSJF 2673 S St. 21., – FSJF 2755 St. 22., – FSJF 2736 St. 28., – FSJF 2669 St. 29., – FSJF 2681 St. 30., – FSJF 2761 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Shadha Lake basin in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Garra culiciphaga (Pellegrin, 1927)

Common names

Kırmızı çizgili saz balığı* / Red stripe barb.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 02480 St. 33., – FSJF 2403 St. 53., – FSJF 3512 St. 53., – FFR 02481 St. 58., – FFR 4027 St. 72., – FSJF 2607 St. 75., – FSJF 2496 St. 76.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey.

Garra sp.

Material examined

FSJF 2414 St. 3., – FFR 04032 St. 8., – FFR 04010 St. 9., – FSJF 2335 St. 9., – FSJF 2449 St. 11., – FSJF 2302 St. 13., – FFR 04007 St. 16., – FSJF 2415 St. 17., – FSJF 2699 St. 18., – FSJF 2671 St. 21., – FSJF 2684 St. 22., – FSJF 2695 St. 23., – FSJF 2667 St. 29., – FSJF 2663 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Qattinah-I Lake basin in Turkey and Syria.

Taxonomic notes

Geiger et al. (2014) genetically identified some of the Orontes populations as Garra sp., Bayçelebi et al. (2018) supported this view and reported that these populations have not been defined yet. A detailed study is needed to reveal the taxonomic status of these populations.

Garra turcica Karaman, 1971

Common names

Seyhan doktor balığı / Seyhan doctor fish*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 4009 St. 33., – Not preserved, St. 38., – FSJF 2348 St. 40., – Not preserved, St. 51., – FFR 01267 St. 54., – FSJF 2388 St. 55., – FFR 04000 St. 57., – FFR 04008 St. 59., – FFR 4004 St. 66., – FSJF 2898 St. 77., – FFR 01270 St. 78., – FSJF 2853 St. 79., – FFR 1270 St. 80.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey.

Taxonomic notes

The species was treated as a synonym of Garra rufa for a long time. However, molecular and morphological data strongly showed that G. turcica is a valid species (Bayçelebi et al. 2018).

Garra variabilis (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Yapışkan balık / Variable garra.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2658 St. 20., – FSJF 2737 St. 30., – FSJF 2661 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

This species is distributed in the lower parts of the Orontes River drainages in Syria. In addition, Garra variabilis shows wide distributions in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in Turkey.

Luciobarbus pectoralis (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Doğu Akdeniz bıyıklı balığı / Levantina barbe.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 00305 St. 1., – FFR uncat. St. 2., – FFR 00346 St. 3., – FFR 00345 St. 4., – FFR 00345 St. 9., – FSJF 2697 St. 18., – FFR 00347 St. 33., – FSJF 2424 St. 34., – Not preserved, St. 38., – FSJF 2329 St. 40., – FFR 00300 St. 52., – FFR 00301 St. 53., – FFR 00321 St. 54., – FSJF 2450 St. 55., – FFR 00358 St. 58., – FFR 00344 St. 68., – FSJF 2988 St. 73., – FSJF 2854 St. 79.

Distribution in the area

Orontes, Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages and Balık and Qattinah-I Lake basins in Turkey and Syria.

Family Leuciscidae Bonaparte, 1835

Acanthobrama orontis Berg, 1949

Common names

Asi akçapağı* / Orontes bream*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

Not preserved St. 52., – FSJF 2435 St. 53., – FSJF 2989 St. 73.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey.

Taxonomic notes

Acanthobrama orontis was identified by Berg (1949) in Lake Amik (Orontes) in Turkey. Goren et al. (1973) reported it to be a synonym of A. marmid, and Krupp (1985) and Bogutskaya (1997) also supported this view (Freyhof and Özuluğ 2014). Freyhof and Özuluğ (2014) accepted A. orontis as valid although they did not find it in the Orontes River. The species, which was not observed in the fieldwork, might prefer the local area in the Orontes.

Acanthobrama thisbeae Freyhof & Özuluğ, 2014

Common names

Ceyhan akçapağı* / Ceyhan bream*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR uncat., St. 5., – FSJF 2987 St. 73.

Distribution in the area

The lower part of the Ceyhan and Orontes River drainages.

Taxonomic notes

Freyhof and Özuluğ (2014) suspected that Aspius vorax (Bostancı 2006: 84) originated from the stream Afrin (Orontes River); it might be A. thisbae. The material examined by Bostancı (2006) in FFR belongs to the species A. thisbeae.

Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner, 1863

Common names

İskenderun inci balığı* / Iskenderun bleak.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 00999 St. 35., – FSJF 504 St. 40., – FFR 04665 St. 58., – FFR 00868 St. 64., – FSJF 2638 St. 64., – FFR 04663 St. 69., – FSJF 2570 St. 70., – FSJF 2497 St. 76., – FSJF 2901 St. 77., – FSJF 2856 St. 79.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages, in addition to coastal streams between Ceyhan and Arsuz (Freyhof et al. 2018b).

Alburnus magnificus Freyhof & Turan, 2019

Common names

Afrin inci balığı* / Afrin bleak*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 00998 St. 4., – FSJF 2915 St. 5., – FFR 00990 St. 7., – FSJF 2298 St. 13., – FSJF 2412 St. 17.

Distribution in the area

The lower part of the Orontes River drainage in Turkey; most probably it occurs also in Syria as the stream Afrin passes from Syrian territory (Feyhof and Turan 2019). Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Taxonomic notes

Alburnus qalilus (Krupp 1992) is distributed in the coastal streams in Syria. Birecikligil et al. (2016) reported A. qalilus from the Orontes River in Turkey. However, Freyhof and Turan (2019) revised the genus of Alburnus from the lower part of the Orontes and restricted A. qalilus to Syria.

Alburnus orontis Sauvage, 1882

Common names

Asi incisi* / Orontes bleak.

Conservation

Vulnerable (VU).

Material examined

FFR 04602 St. 2., – FSJF 2393 St. 3., – FFR 00902 St. 6., – FFR 04696 St. 8., – FSJF 2963 St. 10., – FSJF 2401 St. 11., – FSJF 2675 St. 21., – FSJF 2759 St. 22., – FSJF 2740 St. 24., – FSJF 2751 St. 30.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Alburnus sellal Heckel, 1843

Common names

Doğu incisi* / Eastern shah kuli.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 04697 St. 56.

Distribution in the area

It is only found in the Lake Gölbaşı basin that connected with the stream Aksu (upper part of Ceyhan River). However, this species is widely distributed in the inland waters of eastern Turkey (Freyhof et al. 2018a).

Chondrostoma kinzelbachi Krupp, 1985

Common names

Asi kababurun* / Orontes nase.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 2033 St. 1., – FFR 2018 St. 3., – FFR 2081 St. 8., – FSJF 2841 St. 12.

Distribution in the area

Known from only the Orontes drainages and Lake Balık basin in Turkey. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Chondrostoma ceyhanensis Küçük, Turan, Güçlü, Mutlu & Çiftci, 2017

Common names

Ceyhan kababurunu*/ Ceyhan nase*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 02057 St. 33., – FFR 02076 St. 39., – FSJF 2346 St. 40., – FFR 02056 St. 58., – FFR 02075 St. 69., – FSJF 2990 St. 73.

Distribution in the area

Ceyhan and Seyhan River drainages and River Berdan, a watershed in the Mediterranean Sea (Küçük et al. 2017).

Leuciscus vorax (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Sis balığı / Tigris asp.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 1495 St. 25.

Distribution in the area

Leuciscus vorax is only found in the Orontes River in Syria.

Pseudophoxinus cilicicus Saç, Özuluğ, Geiger & Freyhof, 2019

Common names

Kilikya ot balığı* / Cilician spring minnow*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2417 St. 53., – FFR 03301 St. 69., – FSJF 2970 St. 71.

Distribution in the area. The lower part of the Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages, also the stream Arsuz (Mediterranean Sea Basin) in Turkey (Saç et al. 2019).

Pseudophoxinus firati Bogutskaya, Küçük & Atalay, 2006

Common names

Fırat ot balığı* / Euphrates spring minnow.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 03308 St. 42., – FSJF 4052 St. 60., – FFR 03283 St. 64.

Distribution in the area. Pseudophoxinus firati is found in the streams Göksun and Aksu (Ceyhan) and spring Karahalka (Seyhan). It is also known from the headwaters of the Euphrates (Saç et al. 2019).

Pseudophoxinus libani (Lortet, 1883)

Common names

Asi ot balığı* / Orontes spring minnow.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 03314 St. 1., – FSJF 2391 St. 3., – FSJF 2756 St. 19., – FSJF 2646 St. 20., – FSJF 2641 St. 21., – FSJF 2757 St. 22., – FSJF 2644 St. 24., – FSJF 2645 St. 28., – FSJF 2647 St. 30., – FSJF 2643 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Balık and Qattinah Lake basins in Turkey and Syria.

Taxonomic note

According to morphological and molecular data (COI), P. libani and P. kervillei were conspecific and P. kervillei was a junior synonym of P. libani (Bariche and Freyhof 2016).

Pseudophoxinus turani Küçük & Güçlü, 2014

Common names

İncesu ot balığı* / Incesu spring minnow.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 03286 St. 9., – FSJF 2964 St. 10., – FSJF 2277 St. 14., – FFR 03282 St. 14.

Distribution in the area

Streams İncesu and Karasu (outflow of TahtaKöprü Dam Lake) in Turkey. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Pseudophoxinus zekayi Bogutskaya, Küçük & Atalay, 2006

Common names

Ceyhan ot balığı* / Ceyhan spring minnow.

Conservation

Vulnerable (VU).

Material examined

FFR 03315 St. 56., – FSJF 2985 St. 73., – FFR 3313 St. 75., – FSJF 2461 St. 75., – FSJF 2478 St. 76., – FSJF 2961 St. 82.

Distribution in the area

Springs Çöçelli and Evri and the Lake Gölbaşı basin (Ceyhan River basin). Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Pseudophoxinus zeregi (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Kueik ot balığı* / Qweik spring minnow*.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2430 St. 3., – FSJF 2297 St. 13., – FFR 03312 St. 15., – FSJF 2746 St. 27., – FSJF 2749 St. 30.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages in Turkey and Syria. It was also reported from the Qweik River and small coastal streams in Syria (Saç et al. 2019).

Squalius adanaensis Turan, Kottelat & Doğan, 2013

Common names

Adana tatlısu kefali* / Adana chub.

Conservation

Near Threatened (NT).

Material examined

FFR 06279 St. 33., – FFR 01995 St. 35., – FSJF 2939 St. 36. – FSJF 2419 St. 34., – FFR 00777 St. 40., – FSJF 2382 St. 55.

Distribution in the area

The lower part of the Seyhan River drainages in Turkey. Endemic to only the Seyhan River.

Squalius kottelati Turan, Yilmaz & Kaya, 2009

Common names

Asi tatlısu kefali* / Orontes dace*.

Conservation

Near Threatened (NT).

Material examined

FFR 00778 St. 2., – FFR 06231 St. 3., – FFR 01567 St. 9., – FSJF 2962 St. 10., – FSJF 2842 St. 12., – Not preserved St. 52., – FFR St. .57., – FFR 06280 St. 57., – FFR 00665 St. 61., – FFR 00567 St. 73., – FSJF 2986 St. 73., – FSJF 2855 St. 79.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes River drainages in Turkey. It may occur in the upper part of the Orontes in Syria.

Squalius seyhanensis Turan, Kottelat & Doğan, 2013

Common names

Seyhan tatlısu kefali* / Seyhan chub*.

Conservation

Data Deficient (DD).

Material examined

FSJF 2539 St. 43., – FFR 01994 St. 44., – FFR 06275 St. 44., – FSJF 2982 St. 44., – FSJF 2895 St. 45., – FFR 00758 St. 47., – FFR 00730 St. 49., – FFR01993 St. 50.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Seyhan River drainages in Turkey. It was also reported in the Euphrates River drainages (Turan et al. 2017).

Figure 5.

Nemacheilidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey. a. Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis, stream Göksun-II; b. O. cilicicus, stream Eğlence; c. O. evreni, Lake Gölbaşı; d. O. hamwii, stream Karasu-II; e. O. namiri, stream Hanne; f. O. samanticus, stream Sarnaz; g. O. seyhanensis, stream Zamantı-II photo: JF; h. O. seyhanicola, stream Eğlence.

Figure 6.

Salmonidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey. a. Salmo chilo, stream Human; b. S. labecula, stream Ecemiş; c. S. opimus, stream Fırnız; d. S. platycephalus, stream Pınarbaşı; e. Oncorhynchus mykiss, Seyhan Dam Lake.

Figure 7.

Fishes of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey. a. Anguilla anguilla, Orontes River-I; b. Mystus pelusius, Lake Balık; c. Silurus glanis, Seyhan Dam Lake; d. Clarias gariepinus, stream Afrin-III; e. Esox Lucius, stream Pınarbaşı; f. Atherina boyeri, Lake Gölbaşı; g. Gambusia holbrooki, spring Çöçelli; h. Sander lucioperca Seyhan Dam Lake; i. Planiliza abu, stream Afrin-I; j. Salaria fluviatilis, stream Çakıtsuyu-I.

Family Cobitidae Swainson, 1838

Cobitis aliyeae Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018

Common names

Adana taşemeni* / Adana spined loach*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 05501 St. 33., – FSJF 2427 St. 53., – FFR 05506 St. 54., – FSJF 2969 St. 71.

Distribution in the area

The lower part of the Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey (Freyhof et al. 2018c).

Cobitis anabelae Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018

Common names

Orontes spined loach* / Asi taşemeni*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2399 St. 3., – FFR 05528 St. 6., – FFR 05564 St. 8., – FSJF 2428 St. 11., – FSJF 2674 St. 21.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Cobitis erkakanae Freyhof, Bayçelebi & Geiger, 2018

Common names

Gölbaşı spined loach* / Gölbaşı taşemeni*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2510 St. 62.

Distribution in the area

It is only known from the Lake Gölbaşı basin (Ceyhan) in Turkey. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Cobitis evreni Erk’Akan, Özeren & Nalbant, 2008

Common names

Ceyhan spined loach / Ceyhan taşemeni*.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 05530 St. 64.

Distribution in the area

It is only distributed in the middle Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Cobitis levantina Krupp & Moubayed, 1992

Common names

Orontes spined loach/ Asi taşemeni*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2747 St. 30.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Orontes River drainages in Syria.

Figure 8.

Aphaniidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey and Syria. a. Paraphanius alexandri, spring Çöçelli; b. P. boulengeri, Lake Gölbaşı; c. P. mento, spring of Barada photo: JF; d. P. orontis, Orontes River-I; e. P. similis, Seyhan River, below water regulation doors photo: JF.

Figure 9.

Cichlidae species of the northeastern Mediterranean Sea Basin of Turkey and Syria. a. Coptodon zillii, Lake Balık; b. Sarotherodon galilaeus, Al Ghab photo: JF; c. Tristramella simonis, spring south of Qala’at photo: JF.

Figure 10.

Views from the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes River drainages, representative of habitat. a. Stream Eğlence (Seyhan); b. Stream Üçürge (Seyhan); c. Stream Aksu-III (Ceyhan); d. Spring Çöçelli (Ceyhan); e. Stream Karasu-I (Orontes); f. Lake Balık (Orontes).

Family Nemacheilidae Regan, 1911

Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis (Erk’akan, Nalbant & Özeren, 2007)

Common names

Elbistan çöpçü balığı* / Elbistan loach.

Conservation

Data Deficient (DD)

Material examined

FFR 01479 St. 65., – FSJF 2967 St. 71., – FSJF 2900 St. 77., – FSJF 2960 St. 82.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Ceyhan River drainages in Turkey. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus Kaya, Turan, Bayçelebi, Kalaycı & Freyhof, 2020

Common names

Kilikya çöpçü balığı* / Cilicia loach*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 1491 St. 33., – FSJF 2940 St. 36., – FFR 15559 St. 38., – FSJF 2324 St. 40., – FSJF 2432 St. 53., – FFR 15576 St. 56., – FFR 15578 St. 58., – FFR 1489 St. 59., – FSJF 2507 St. 62., – FSJF 2639 St. 64., – FSJF 2569 St. 70., – FSJF 2606 St. 75., – FSJF 2477 St. 76.

Distribution in the area

It is known from the lower Göksu, Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers, also the Lake Gölbaşı basin (Kaya et al. 2020).

Oxynoemacheilus evreni (Erk’akan, Nalbant & Özeren, 2007)

Common names

Ceyhan çöpçü balığı* / Ceyhan loach*.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 1598 St. 58., – FFR 01490 St. 59., – FSJF 2503 St. 63., – FSJF 2640 St. 64., – FSJF 2567 St. 70., – FSJF 2897 St. 77., – FSJF 2959 St. 82.

Distribution in the area

Ceyhan River drainages. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Oxynoemacheilus hamwii (Krupp & Schneider, 1991)

Common names

Asi çöpçü balığı* / Orontes loach*.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 1501 St. 2., – FFR 1498 St. 4., – FSJF 2917 St. 5., – FFR 1486 St. 7., – FFR 1494 St. 9., – FSJF 2385 St. 17.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Orontes River in Turkey. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Oxynoemacheilus namiri (Krupp & Schneider, 1991)

Common names

Akdeniz çöpçü balığı*/ Levantine loach.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 01502 St. 2., – FFR 01497 St. 5., – FFR 01503 St. 6., – FFR 1485 St. 7., – FSJF 2395 St. 11., – FSJF 2300 St. 13., – FFR 15556 St. 15., – FSJF 2698 St. 18., – FSJF 2656 St. 20., – FSJF 2672 St. 21., – FSJF 2682 St. 22., – FSJF 2748 St. 24., – FSJF 2713 St. 26., – FSJF 2745 St. 27., – FSJF 2666 St. 29., – FSJF 2750 St. 30.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and the Lake Shadha basin in Turkey and Syria. Endemic to only the Orontes River.

Oxynoemacheilus samanticus (Banarescu & Nalbant, 1978)

Common names

Zamanti çöpçü balığı / Zamanti loach*.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2983 St. 44., – FFR 15561 St. 51.

Distribution in the area

Stream Zamantı and Sarnaz, the upper Seyhan River drainages. The species is also widespread in Kızılırmak River drainages and stream Mancılık (Euphrates River) (Freyhof et al. 2019).

Oxynoemacheilus seyhanensis (Bănărescu, 1968)

Common names

Seyhan loach* / Seyhan çöpçü balığı*.

Conservation

Critically Endangered (CR).

Material examined

FSJF 2984 St. 44.

Distribution in the area

It is only found in the upper Seyhan River drainages. However, it is known from the Kızılırmak River drainages in Turkey. Oxynoemacheilus kosswigi is known from the Kızılırmak drainages and has recently been synonymised with O. seyhanensis (Sungur 2020).

Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola (Erk’akan, Nalbant & Özeren, 2007)

Common names

Adana çöpçü balığı* / Adana loach*.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 01499 St. 37., – FFR 01492 St. 38., – FFR 15522 St. 39., – FSJF 2327 St. 40., – FSJF 2377 St. 55.

Distribution in the area

The lower part of the Seyhan River drainages in Turkey. Endemic to only the Seyhan River.

Family Bagridae Bleeker, 1858

Mystus pelusius (Solander, 1794)

Common names

Mezopotamya kedi balığı*/ Tigris mystus.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 02732 St. 1.

Distribution in the area

Known from only the Lake Balık in the area, but it occurs in the Tigris, Euphrates and Queiq River drainages (Kaya et al 2016).

Family Siluridae Rafinesque, 1815

Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758

Common names

Yayın / Wels catfish.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

Not preserved St. 52., – Not preserved St. 78.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan Dam and Sır Dam lakes (Ceyhan). It is also widespread in the Anatolia.

Family Clariidae

Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822)

Common names

Kara balık / North African catfish.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 05700 St. 6., – FFR uncat., St. 8., – FFR uncat., St. 15., – FSJF 2381 St. 17.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Orontes River drainages in Turkey and it might be found in Syria.

Family Esocidae Rafinesque, 1815

Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758

Common names

Turna / Pike.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 04200 St. 48., – FFR 04201 St. 49.

Distribution in the area

Streams Şıvgın and Karagöz, Seyhan River in Turkey.

Family Salmonidae Jarocki or Schinz, 1822

Salmo chilo Turan, Kottelat & Engin, 2012

Common names

Akdere alası* / Akdere trout*.

Conservation

Vulnerable (VU).

Material examined

FFR 03055 St. 81.

Distribution in the area

Stream Hurman, an uppermost drainage of the Ceyhan River. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Salmo labecula Turan, Kottelat & Engin, 2012

Common names

Seyhan alası*/ Seyhan trout.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FFR 03057 St. 32.

Distribution in the area

Stream Ecemiş in the drainage of the Seyhan River.

Salmo opimus Turan, Kottelat & Engin, 2012

Common names

Ceyhan alası*/ Ceyhan trout*.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FSJF 2504 St. 63., – FSJF 2637 St. 64., – FFR 03051 St. 67., – FFR 03050 St. 68.

Distribution in the area

The middle part of the Ceyhan River drainages.

Salmo platycephalus Behnke, 1968

Common names

Yassıbaş ala*/ Flathead trout.

Conservation

Endangered (EN).

Material examined

FSJF 2538 St. 43., – FFR 01160 St. 46.

Distribution in the area

It is only known from the upper basin of the Seyhan River drainages (Turan et al. 2012). Endemic to only the Seyhan River.

Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792)

Common names

Gökkuşağı alabalığı / Rainbow trout.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

Not preserved St. 52.

Distribution in the area

This species is widely introduced via aquaculture around the world. It was only collected in the Seyhan Dam Lake in the area.

Family Atherinidae Risso, 1827

Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810

Common names

Gümüş balığı / Big-scale sand smelt.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR uncat., St. 8., – FSJF 2313 St. 9., – FFR uncat., St. 9., – FFR 04150 St. 47., – FFR 04152 St. 56.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages, stream Kışla (Seyhan) and the Lake Gölbaşı basin (Ceyhan).

Family Poeciliidae Bonaparte, 1831

Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859

Common names

Sivrisinek balığı / Eastern mosquito fish.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2398 St. 3., – FFR 02495 St. 6., – FSJF 2321 St. 9., – FSJF 2299 St. 13., – FFR 02493 St. 16., – Not preserved St. 72., – FFR 15004 St. 75.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages, a tributary of Ceyhan River and spring Çöçelli (Ceyhan River).

Family Aphaniidae Nardo, 1827

Paraphanius alexandri (Akşiray, 1948)

Common names

İskenderun dişlisazancığı / İskenderun pompano.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 08660 St. 75., – FSJF 2605 St. 75.

Distribution in the area

It is widespread in the Ceyhan River drainage, from the coastal streams in the Arsuz (İskenderun) to the mainsprings of the Ceyhan River in Elbistan.

Paraphanius boulengeri (Aksiray, 1948)

Common names

Gölbaşı dişlisazancığı / Gölbaşı killifish.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 08662 St. 62., – FSJF 2506 St. 62., – FSJF 3737 St. 62.

Distribution in the area

The species is known from the Lake Gölbaşı. Endemic to only the Ceyhan River.

Paraphanius mento (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Mavi benekli dişlisazancık / Pearl-spotted killifish.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FSJF 2758 St. 19., – FSJF 2657 St. 20., – FSJF 2683 St. 22., – FSJF 2659 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

The upper part of the Orontes River drainages and the Lake Qattinah basin in Syria.

Paraphanius orontis (Aksiray, 1948)

Common names

Asi dişlisazancığı* / Orontes killifish*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FFR 08642 St. 3., – FSJF 2431 St. 3., – FSJF 2753 St. 30.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River and stream Nahr al Barid in Turkey and Syria.

Paraphanius similis (Aksiray, 1948)

Common names

Seyhan noktalı dişlisazancığı* / Seyhan spotted killifish*.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2434 St. 53.

Distribution in the area

The species is widespread in the Seyhan River drainage, whereas some landlocked populations exist in central Anatolia.

Family Percidae Rafinesque, 1815

Sander lucioperca (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common names

Sudak / Pike-perch.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

Not preserved St. 52.

Distribution in the area

Seyhan Dam Lake in Turkey.

Family Mugilidae Jarocki, 1822

Chelon sp.

Material examined

FSJF 2425 St. 17.

Distribution in the area

The species is known from the stream Yıldırım (Orontes River).

Taxonomic note

The species has not been identified because there is insufficient material. Advanced genetic and morphological studies are needed to reveal the taxonomic status of the species.

Planiliza abu (Heckel, 1843)

Common names

Mezopotamya kefali* / Abu mullet.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 027583 St. 1., – FFR 2587 St. 4., – FFR 02588 St. 6. – FSJF 2396 St. 11., – FSJF 2668 S St. 29., – FFR 2586 St. 57.

Distribution in the area

Orontes River drainages and Balık and Qattinah Lake basins in Turkey and Syria.

Family Cichlidae Bonaparte, 1835

Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848)

Common names

Tilapya / Redbelly tilapia.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 06800 St. 1., – FSJF 2413 St. 17.

Distribution in the area

It was found in the Lake Balık and stream Yıldırım, Orontes River in Turkey. According to the literature, it was reported from the coastal streams and the Orontes River in Syria (Borkenhagen and Freyhof 2009).

Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common names

Mango tilapia* / Mango Tilapia.

Conservation

Not Evaluated (NE).

Material examined

FSJF 2664 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

It is found in a spring, south of Qala’at al Jarras in Syria.

Tristramella simonis (Günther, 1864)

Common names

Kısa çeneli tilapia* / Short jaw tilapia.

Conservation

Vulnerable (VU).

Material examined

FSJF 2665 St. 31.

Distribution in the area

It is found in a spring south of Qala’at al Jarras. It is also known from Levantine and lakes Tiberias and Muzarib (Borkenhagen and Freyhof 2009).

Family Blenniidae Rafinesque ,1810

Salaria fluviatilis (Asso, 1801)

Common names

Horozbina / Freshwater blenny.

Conservation

Least Concern (LC).

Material examined

FFR 04251 St. 33., – Not preserved St. 38., – FFR 04256 St. 39., – FSJF 2453 St. 40., – FFR 04254 St. 58., – FFR 04250 St. 59., – FFR 04253 St. 69.

Distribution in the area

It is known from the Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages.

Taxonomic notes

The genus of Salaria is represented with a single species Salaria fluviatilis in Turkey. This genus should be compared with different populations, which should be reviewed, both morphologically and molecularly, to clarify the taxonomy.

Discussion

As a result of this study, the current fish fauna conditions of the Orontes, Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers were evaluated. Sixty-seven species belonging to 17 families of inland water fishes were reported from the Seyhan (28 species), Ceyhan (27 species) and Orontes (33 species) river drainages in Turkey and Syria. Almost all the fish species were recorded in the previous studies for the region, except Tinca tinca (see Table, 2). This species was reported from the Seyhan River (Erk’akan and Özdemir 2011; Ergüden Alagöz and Göksu 2012). The species’ absence may be explained by the hunting method, habitat selection or season.

Table 2.

Download as

CSV

XLSX

Former and current fish records from the Orontes, Seyhan and Ceyhan River drainages.

Orontes River
Bostancı 2006		Özcan 2013		This Study
Anguilla anguilla		Anguilla anguilla		Anguilla anguilla
Capoeta barroisi		Capoeta barroisi		Capoeta barroisi
Capoeta damascina, C. angorae		Capoeta damascina		Capoeta damascina
Carasobarbus luteus		Carasobarbus luteus		Carasobarbus chantrei
–		Carassius auratus auratus		Carassius gibelio
–		–		Cyprinus carpio
–		–		Garra caudomaculata
Garra rufa		Garra rufa		Garra sp.
–		–		Garra variabilis
Barbus pectoralis		Luciobarbus pectoralis		Luciobarbus pectoralis
Aspius vorax		Acanthobrama marmid		Acanthobrama thisbeae
Alburnoides bipunctatus		–		Alburnus magnificus
Alburnus orontis		–		Alburnus orontis
Chondrostoma kinzelbachi		Chondrostoma kinzelbachi		Chondrostoma kinzelbachi
Squalius lepidus		–		Squalius kottelati
–		–		Pseudophoxinus turani
–		–		Pseudophoxinus libani
–		–		Pseudophoxinus zeregi
–		–		Leuciscus vorax
Cobitis levantina		Cobitis levantina		Cobitis anabelae
–		–		Cobitis levantina
–		Oxynoemacheilus argyrogramma		Oxynoemacheilus hamwii
Barbatula panthera		–		Oxynoemacheilus namiri
Mystus halepensis		–		Mystus pelusius
Clarias gariepinus		Clarias gariepinus		Clarias gariepinus
–		Gambusia affinis		Gambusia holbrooki
–		–		Paraphanius mento
Aphanius mento		Aphanius mento		Paraphanius orontis
Liza abu		Liza abu		Planiliza abu
–		–		Chelon sp.
Tilapia zillii, Oreochromis niloticus		Tilapia zillii		Coptodon zilli
–		–		Sarotherodon galilaeus
–		–		Tristramella simonis
Seyhan River
Bostancı 2006	Erk’akan and Özdemir 2011		Ergüden Alagöz and Göksu 2012		This Study
Capoeta angorae	Capoeta damascina		Capoeta angorae		Capoeta damascina
–	Capoeta barroisi		Capoeta erhani		Capoeta erhani
–	–		Carassius carassius		–
–	Carassius gibelio		Carassius gibelio		–
–	Cyprinus carpio		Cyprinus carpio		Cyprinus carpio
–	Hemigrammacapoeta caudamaculata		–		Garra culiciphaga
Garra rufa	Garra rufa		Garra rufa		Garra turcica
Barbus pectoralis	Barbus pectoralis, Barbus rajanorum		Luciobarbus pectoralis		Luciobarbus pectoralis
–	Tinca tinca		Tinca tinca		–
–	Acanthobrama marmid		Acanthobrama sp., Rutilus rutilus		Acanthobrama orontis
Alburnus orontis	Alburnus orontis		Alburnus sp.		Alburnus kotschyi
Alburnus adanensis	Alburnus adanensis		–		–
Chondrostoma regium	Chondrostoma regium		Chondrostroma regium		Chondorstoma ceyhanensis
–	–		–		Squalius adanensis
Leuciscus lepidus	Squalius lepidus		Squalius kottelati		Squalius kottelati
Leuciscus cephalus	Leuciscus cephalus		Squalius cephalus		Squalius seyhanensis
–	Pseudophoxinus zekayi				Pseudophoxinus cilicicus
–	–		–		Pseudophoxinus firati
–	–		Cobitis evreni		Cobitis aliyeae
Oxynoemacheilus samanticus	Oxynoemacheilus samanticus, Schistura evreni		–		Oxynoemacheilus samanticus
–	Paracobitis tigris		–		Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus
Paracobitis seyhanensis	Paracobitis seyhanensis		–		Oxynoemacheilus seyhanensis
–	Schistura seyhanicola		–		Oxynoemacheilus seyhanicola
–	Silurus glanis		Silurus glanis		Silurus glanis
–	Clarias gariepinus		Clarias gariepinus		–
–	–		–		Esox lucius
Salmo trutta macrostigma	Salmo trutta macrostigma		–		Salmo labecula
Salmo platycephalus	Salmo platycephalus		–		Salmo platycephalus
–	Oncorhyncus mykiss		Oncorhynchus mykiss		Oncorhyncus mykiss
–	–		–		Atherina boyeri
–	Gambusia holbrooki		Gambusia affinis		–
–	Aphanius mento, Aphanius danfordii		Aphanius mento, Aphanius fasciatus		Paraphanius similis
Sander locioperca	Sander locioperca		Sander lucioperca		Sander lucioperca
Blennius fluviatilis	Salaria fluviatilis		Salaria fluviatilis		Salaria fluviatilis
Ceyhan River
Bostancı 2006	Kara et al. 2010		Erk’akan and Özdemir 2011		This Study
–	Anguilla anguilla		Anguilla anguilla		–
Capoeta angorae	Capoeta angorae		Capoeta damascina		Capoeta damascina
Capoeta barroisi	Capoeta erhani		Capoeta barroisi		Capoeta barroisi
–	Cyprinus carpio		–		–
Hemigrammacapoeta culiciphaga	–		Hemigrammacapoeta caudamaculata		Garra culiciphaga
Garra rufa	Garra rufa		Garra rufa		Garra turcica
Barbus pectoralis, Barbus barbulus	Luciobarbus pectoralis		Luciobarbus pectoralis, Barbus rajanorum		Luciobarbus pectoralis
–	Acanthobrama sp.		–		Acanthobrama orontis
–	–		–		Acanthobrama thisbeae
–	–		–		Alburnus sellal
Alburnus sellal, Alburnoides oblongus	Alburnus orontis		Alburnus baliki, Alburnus orontis, Alburnus adanensis,		Alburnus kotschyi
Chondrostoma regium	Chondrostoma regium		Chondrostoma regium		Chondorstoma ceyhanensis
Leuciscus lepidus	Squalius kottelati, Leuciscus cephalus		Squalius lepidus, Leuciscus cephalus		Squalius kottelati
–	–		–		Pseudophoxinus cilicus
–	–		–		Pseudophoxinus firati
Phoxinellus fahirae	Pseudophoxinus zekayi		Pseudophoxinus zekayi		Pseudophoxinus zekayi
–	Cobitis evreni		–		Cobitis evreni
–	–		Cobitis levantina		Cobitis aliyeae
–	–		–		Cobitis erkakanae
Oxynoemacheilus argyrogramma	Oxynemacheilus sp. Schistura ceyhanensis		Schistura evreni Schistura seyhanicola		Oxynoemacheilus evreni
Paracobitis tigris	–		Paracobitis tigris Schistura ceyhanensis		Oxynoemacheilus ceyhanensis
–	Silurus glanis		–		Silurus glanis
Clarias gariepinus	Clarias gariepinus		Clarias gariepinus		Clarias gariepinus
–	–		Aphanius danfordii		–
–	Aphanius mento		Aphanius mento		Paraphanius alexandri
Salmo trutta macrostigma	Salmo trutta macrostigma		Salmo trutta macrostigma		Salmo opimus
–	–		–		Salmo chilo
–	Gambusia affinis		Gambusia holbrooki		Gambusia holbrooki
–	–		–		Planiliza abu
Blennius fluviatilis	Salaria fluviatilis		Salaria fluviatilis		Salaria fluviatilis

Acanthobrama centisquama was originally described from Orontes (Asi) drainage by Heckel (1843) but not recorded again for a long time (Freyhof and Özuluğ 2014). Then also this study period, this species could not be observed in this research area. It might be extinct or has a very localised distribution in the Orontes River.

Four species of Alburnus are known from the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes rivers. Three of them have been obtained in the study period while A. adanensis has not been caught. Bostancı (2006) and Erk’akan and Özdemir (2011) identified an Alburnus species from the Seyhan River as A. adanensis. Birecikligil et al. (2016) reported that A. adanensis was s a synonym of A. sellal. Freyhof et al. (2018b) accepted A. adanensis as a valid species and suggested that it might be extinct. Finally, Bektaş et al. (2020) have studied molecular characters of the genus Alburnus, and they recently treat as a synonym of A. kotschyi.

Although the genus of the Cobitis has had high biodiversity in Anatolia for many years, it was thought to be represented by only a few species. A comprehensive study has recently been conducted by Freyhof et al. (2018c), who revised the genus Cobitis in the Middle East and recognised a total of thirty species, eight of them as new to Turkish inland waters. Cobitis levantina, reported by previous studies to be in the Orontes and Seyhan rivers, was identified as C. anabelae by Freyhof et al. (2018c). The distribution area of the C. levantina is restricted to the lower part of the Orontes in Syria and in the Litani River drainage in Lebanon (Krupp and Moubayed 1992).

Planiliza abu is distributed in the Euphrates and Tigris River basins. P. abu is recorded for the first time in the Ceyhan River. Also, Esox lucius is widespread in rivers of the Anatolia. It is first recorded from the Seyhan River.

The Lake Gölbaşı is located in a national park in Adıyaman province (eastern Anatolia). It is connected to two lakes, named Azaplı and İnekli. These lakes are connected to the Ceyhan River. They have been separated in the past and their connections might be relatively new (Freyhof et al. 2018c; Saç et al. 2019). Today, the water transfer to the Ceyhan Basin is provided by the Çataltepe-Kartalkaya Line (GAP – Gaziantep Emergency Drinking Water Supply) from the Göksu River in the Euphrates drainage. The water obtained from the Göksu River is transmitted to the Lake Gölbaşı through the siphon, tunnel and canal system. Therefore, it is expected that some species in the Euphrates will be in the Lake Gölbaşı in the near future. Alburnus sellal is widespread in the Euphrates basin. This study cited a new record of A. sellal in the Lake Gölbaşı.

This study was designed to provide an inventory of freshwater fish in the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Orontes basins, and to eliminate certain taxonomic uncertainties. Also, it should highlight the need to create a protection area for endangered species and endemic fishes. For future research, fieldwork especially focusing on estuaries and dam lakes is suggested for a better understanding of the fish fauna of these river systems.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to Jörg Freyhof (Berlin) for allowing me to use data of collections (FSJF) and for supporting me with the photos (JF) of some species as well as Müfit Özuluğ (İstanbul) for allowing me to use his photos of Squalius seyhanensis. I am also very grateful to Davut Turan (Rize) and Cüneyt Kaya (Rize) for their comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and Davut Turan, Cüneyt Kaya, Züleyha Akpınar (Rize) and Mehmet Kuyumcu (Rize) for help in the fieldwork. Thanks to Baran Yoğurtçoğlu (Ankara) for his comments on the genus of the Paraphanius and also Jonathan P. (England) and Utku Avcı (Turkey) for reading the manuscript and improving the language. I also thank two reviewers for useful comments.

References

Alagöz Ergüden S, Göksu MZL (2012) The fish Fauna of the Seyhan Dam Lake (Adana) Journal of Fisheries Sciences 6: 39–52. https://doi.org/10.3153/jfscom.2012006

Bariche M, Freyhof J (2016) Status of Pseudophoxinus libani and P. kervillei, two minnows from the Levant (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 27(3): 203–210.

Bayçelebi E, Kaya C, Turan D, Ergüden SA, Freyhof J (2018) Redescription of Garra turcica from southern Anatolia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Zootaxa 4524: 227–236. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4524.2.6

Bektaş Y, Turan D, Aksu İ, Çiftçi Y, Eroğlu O, Kalaycı G, Beldüz AO (2017) Molecular phylogeny of the genus Capoeta (Teleostei. Cyprinidae) in Anatolia, Turkey. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 70: 80–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bse.2016.11.005

Bektaş Y, Aksu İ, Kaya C, Turan D (2019) DNA barcoding of the Genus Capoeta (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) from Anatolia. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 9: 10–25.

Bektaş Y, Aksu İ, Kaya C, Bayçelebi E, Küçük F, Turan D (2020) Molecular systematics and phylogeography of the genus Alburnus Rafinesque, 1820 (Teleostei, Leuciscidae) in Turkey. Mitochondrial DNA Part A: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2020.1791840

Birecikligil SS, Yücel ŞY, Çiçek E (2016) A taxonomic evaluation of Alburnus sellal Heckel, 1843 and Alburnus adanensis Battalgazi, 1944 based on morphological characters and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Pakistan Journal of Zoology, 48(2): 465–473.

Bogutskaya NG (1997) Contribution to the knowledge of leuciscine fishes of Asia Minor. Part 2. An annotated checklist of leuciscine fishes (Leuciscinae, Cyprinidae) of Turkey with descriptions of a new species and two new subspecies. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut 94: 161–186.

Borkenhagen K, Freyhof J (2009) New records of the Levantine endemic cichlid. Tristramella simonis from Syria. Cybium 33(4): 335–336.

Bostancı Z (2006) Seyhan, Ceyhan ve Asi nehirlerinde yasayan balıkların sistematik yönden incelenmesi [Taksonomic [sic] investigation of freshwater fish fauna living in the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Asi River in Turkey]. PhD Thesis, Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Trabzon.

Dağlı M (2008) Kınacık Deresi̇ ve Afri̇n Çayı’ nın Balık Faunası (Kilis, Türki̇ye). Journal of Fisheries Sciences 2(4): 632–638.

Erk’akan F, Özdemir F (2011) Revision of the fish fauna of the Seyhan and Ceyhan River Basins in Turkey. Research Journal of Biological Sciences 6: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3923/rjbsci.2011.1.8

Freyhof J, Özuluğ M (2014) Acanthobrama thisbeae, a new species of bream from southern Anatolia, Turkey (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 25(1): 1–10.

Freyhof J, Özuluğ M, Kaya C, Bayçelebi E, Turan D (2018a) Redescription of Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner, 1863 with comments on Alburnus sellal adanensis Battalgazi, 1944 (Teleostei: Leuciscidae). Zootaxa 4382(3): 573–582. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4382.3.8

Freyhof J, Kaya C, Bayçelebi E, Geiger M, Turan D (2018b) Generic assignment of Leuciscus kurui Bogutskaya from the upper Tigris drainage, and a replacement name for Alburnus kurui Mangit & Yerli (Teleostei: Leuciscidae). Zootaxa 4410(1): 113–135. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4410.1.6

Freyhof J, Bayçelebi E, Geiger MF (2018c) Review of the genus Cobitis in the Middle East, with the description of eight new species (Teleostei: Cobitidae). Zootaxa 4535(1): 1–75. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4535.1.1

Freyhof J, Kaya C, Turan D, Geiger MF (2019) Review of the Oxynoemacheilus tigris group with the description of two new species from the Euphrates drainage (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Zootaxa 4612(1): 29–57. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4612.1.2

Freyhof J, Turan D (2019) Alburnus magnificus, a new species of bleak from the Orontes River drainage (Teleostei: Leuciscidae). Zootaxa 4559(2): 373–383. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4559.2.10

Fricke R, Eschmeyer WN, Van der Laan R (2020) Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes: genera, species, references. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp [January 2020]

Froese R, Pauly D (2020) FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org [version (02/2020)]

Geiger MF, Herder F, Monaghan MT, Almada V, Barbieri R, Bariche M, Berrebi P, Bohlen J, Casal-Lopez M, Delmastro GB, Denys GPJ, Dettai A, Doadrio I, Kalogianni E, Kärst H, Kottelat M, Kovačić M, Laporte M, Lorenzoni M, Marčić Z, Özuluğ M, Perdices A, Perea S, Persat H, Porcelotti S, Puzzi C, Robalo J, Šanda R, Schneider M, Šlechtová V, Stoumboudi M, Walter S, Freyhof J (2014) Spatial heterogeneity in the Mediterranean Biodiversity Hotspot affects barcoding accuracy of its freshwater fishes. Molecular Ecology Resources 14: 1210–1221. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12257

Goren M, Fishelson L, Trewavas E (1973) The cyprinid fishes of Acanthobrama Heckel and related genera. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Zoology 24: 291–315.

IUCN [International Union for the Conservation of Nature] (2020) IUCN Red List of threatened species. Version 2014.3. http://www.iucnredlist.org [June 2020]

İnal D (2020) Fish Diversity and Abundance in the Seyhan River Estuary, Mediterranean Sea Basin, Turkey. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 173–180.

Kara C, Alp A, Şimşekli M (2010) Distribution of Fish Fauna on the Upper and Middle Basin of Ceyhan River, Turkey. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 10: 111–122. https://doi.org/10.4194/trjfas.2010.0116

Kaya C, Turan D, Unlu E (2016) The Latest Status and Distribution of Fishes in Upper Tigris River and Two New Records for Turkish Freshwaters. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 16: 545–562. https://doi.org/10.4194/1303-2712-v16_3_07

Kaya C (2019) Taxonomic revision of the species belong to genus Capoeta distributed in Turkey. PhD Thesis. Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Institute of Science and Technology, Rize, Turkey, 126 pp.

Kaya C, Turan D, Bayçelebi E, Kalaycı G, Freyhof J (2020) Oxynoemacheilus cilicicus, a new nemacheilid loach from the Göksu River in southern Anatolia (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Zootaxa 4808(2): 284–300. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4808.2.3

Krupp F (1985) Systematik und Zoogeographie der Süsswasserfische des levantinischen Grabenbruch-systems und der Ostküste des Mittelmeers. Dissertation, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz 215 pp.

Krupp F (1992) Two new species of cyprinid fishes from the Mediterranean coastal drainage basin of Syria (Pisces: Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae). Senckenbergiana Biologica 72(1/3): 19–25.

Küçük F, Turan D, Güçlü SS, Mutlu AG, Çiftci Y (2017) Two new species of Chondrostoma Agassiz, 1832 (Teleostei; Cyprinidae) from Ceyhan, Seyhan and Göksu Rivers in the East Mediterranean region of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 17: 795–803. https://doi.org/10.4194/1303-2712-v17_4_15

Levin BA, Freyhof J, Lajbner Z, Perea S, Abdoli A, Gaffaroğlu M, Özuluğ M, Rubenyan HR, Salnikov VB, Doadrio I (2012) Phylogenetic relationships of the algae scraping cyprinid genus Capoeta (Teleostei. Cyprinidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62: 542–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2011.09.004

Özdemir F (2013) Türkiye’deki Capoeta (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) Cinsine Ait Tür ve Alttürlerin Klasik ve Moleküler Sistematik Yöntemler Kullanılarak Revizyonu. Doktora Tezi. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Ankara Türkiye, 157 pp.

Özuluğ M, Freyhof J (2008) Capoeta turani, a new species of barbel from River Seyhan, Turkey (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19: 289–296.

Saç G, Özuluğ M, Elp M, Gaffaroğlu M, Ünal S, Ayata MK, Kaya C, Freyhof J (2019) New records of Pseudophoxinus firati from Turkey (Teleostei: Leuciscidae). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 35(3): 769–774. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13869

Turan D, Kottelat M, Engin S (2012) The trouts of the Mediterranean drainages of southern Anatolia, Turkey, with description of three new species (Teleostei: Salmonidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 23(3): 219–236. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2993.1.2

Turan D, Kottelat M, Beyçelebi E (2017) Squalius semae, a new species of chub from the Euphrates River, Eastern Anatolia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Zoology in the Middle East 63(1): 33–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2017.1290761

Sungur S (2020) Oxynoemacheilus kosswigi a junior synonym of O. seyhanensis (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Iranian Journal of Science and Technology Transactions A: Science 44: 563–573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40995-020-00857-9 [First published online]