Capoeta saadii

Common name. Shiraz scraper.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Capoeta in Persian Gulf basin south of Zohreh and in Iranian endor - heic basins by: ○ flank beige, golden or brown without small black spots, often with a lateral stripe, juveniles and some adults individuals with large black blotches / ○ 63–79 total lateral-line scales / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray soft or moderately ossified, shorter than head, with small serrae / ○ no groove in front of nares / ○ (7) 8–9½ branched dorsal rays / ○ 11–16 scales between lateral line and dorsal origin / ○ 7–10 scales between lateral line and pelvic origin / ○ 23–28 (29) circumpeduncular scales / ○ 11–17 gill rakers, usually 9–12 (15) on lower limb, 12–13 in Helleh drainage / ○ pectoral length 15–21 % SL. Size up to 384 mm SL.

Distribution. Iran: Coastal rivers from Helleh south to Kol. Also, found in endorheic basins of Kor, Esfahan and Sirjan, Jazmurian, Kerman, and Lut.

Habitat. A wide range of moderately to rapidly flowing streams and rivers with sand, gravel, and rock substrates.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Analysis of COI DNA sequences places C. raghazensis, described from the Reghez Canyon in Kol drainage, within C. saadii. As morphological characters proposed to distinguish the two species could not be confirmed, C. raghazensis is treated as a synonym of C. saadii.

Further reading. Alwan 2010 (morphology, phylogeny); Alwan et al. 2016b (morphology, phylogeny); Zareian & Esmaeili 2017 (description); Jouladeh-Roudbar et al. 2020 (distribution); Coad 2021a (biology, morphology); Eagderi & Mousavi-Sabet 2021 (description of C. raghazensis).