Barbus escherichii

Common name. Sakarya barbel.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Barbus in West Asia by: ● adults with numerous roundish, small, dark-brown dots, as large or larger than scales / ○ 53−58 total lateral-line scales / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray strongly ossified / ○ 7–10, usually 8−9, gill rakers / ○ head length 25−28 % SL / ○ lower lip with a median lobe / ○ juveniles with numerous irregular dark-brown blotches on back, flanks and head / ○ 45−48, usually 46−47, total vertebrae / ○ anal longer in female than in male. Size up to 300 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Sakarya drainage.

Habitat. Large rivers to mid-sized streams with gravel bottoms. Spawns in riffles and rapids. Also, in reservoirs, from which it migrates into tributaries to spawn.

Biology. Matures at about 2−4 years, males one year earlier than females. A fractional spawner. Feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates and algae.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Previously, the name B. escherichii was often applied to B. tauricus in Anatolian Black Sea basin. Barbus escherichii cannot be distinguished from B. tauricus by its COI DNA sequences, and both species may be closely related, or B. escherichii may have been the victim of introgressive hybridisation. More research is needed on this species group to understand its diversity better.

Further reading. Steindachner 1897 (description); Turan et al. 2009b (comparison).