Oxynoemacheilus amanos

Common name. Hassa loach.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Oxynoemacheilus in Cilicia and northern Levant by: ○ suborbital groove absent in male / ○ caudal deeply emarginate / ○ lateral line incomplete with 23–45 pores, terminating between vertical of dorsal origin and anus / ○ 10–13 pores in infraorbital canal / ○ flank pattern mottled or with many, very narrow, irregularly shaped and set, pale-brown bars, usually flank-bars separated from middorsal saddles and not meeting contralaterals / ○ flank and back posterior to dorsal base covered by scales / ○ body depth at dorsal origin 1.2–1.4 times in HL. Size up to 71 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Spring İncesu at Hassa, a northern tributary of Orontes.

Habitat. Only known from one spring but expected to occur in nearby slow-flowing streams.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. CR; known only from a small population in a very small, unprotected spring. Expected to decline.

Remarks. Related to O. cilicicus from adjacent Ceyhan drainage.

Further reading. Kaya et al. 2021 (description).