Capoeta barroisi

Common name. Orontes scraper.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Capoeta in Mediterranean and endorheic basins in Levant by: ○ one pair of barbels / ○ 76–83 total lateral-line scales / ○ flank silvery with many small black spots / ○ black spots on dorsal head smaller than on predorsal body / ○ pelvic– hypural distance when carried forward, always falling in front of tip of snout / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray very strongly ossified, strongly serrated / ○ 26–29 gill rakers / ○ predorsal keel not or very slightly elevated. Size up to 320 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye and Syria: Orontes drainage.

Habitat. Lakes, reservoirs, and larger lowland rivers. Likely to migrate to inflowing rivers or streams to spawn.

Biology. Feeds on detritus, periphyton, and occasionally small invertebrates.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its small range. Restricted to a few localities in Orontes drainage such as Tahtaköprü reservoir, lower Orontes, upper Afrin and Lake Gölbaşı (Kırıkhan) in Türkiye and Qattinah reservoir in Syria. However, the exact distribution should be reviewed.

Remarks. Individuals of C. barroisi with the last unbranched dorsal ray as long as or longer than the head are often misidentified as C. trutta. Capoeta trutta does not occur in the Orontes.

Further reading. Turan et al. 2008b (distribution, morphology).