Published November 12, 2025 | Version v1

Schizocypris altidorsalis Bianco & Banarescu 1982

Description

Schizocypris altidorsalis

Common name. Gorgak.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of snow barbels in Iran by: ● barbels absent / ○ body fully covered by scales, 81–96 scales along lateral line / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray longer than head, spinous, strongly serrated. Size up to 351 mm SL.

Distribution. Afghanistan and Iran: Sistan basin, including Helmand drainage, Chahnime reservoirs, and Hamun Lakes.

Habitat. All kinds of permanent waterbodies, migrate to seasonal rivers and streams at high water levels to spawn.

Biology. Feed mostly on aufwuchs and detritus.

Conservation status. LC; situation in Helmand is unknown.

Further reading. Bianco & Bănărescu 1982 (description); Coad & Keyzer-de Ville 2005 (identification); Coad 2021a (identification, distribution).

Notes

Published as part of Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, GmbH, Berlin / Boston :De Gruyter on page 242, DOI: 10.1515/9783111677811, http://zenodo.org/record/17881367

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Additional details

References

  • Bianco, P. G. & P. M. Banarescu. 1982. A contribution to the knowledge of the Cyprinidae of Iran (Pisces, Cypriniformes). Cybium 6: 75-96.
  • Coad, B. W. & N. Keyzer-de Ville. 2005. On the validity of the species in the snow-trout genus Schizocypris Regan, 1914 (Cyprinidae: Actinopterygii). Zoology in the Middle East 35: 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2005.10638101
  • Coad, B. W. 2021 a. Carps and Minnows of Iran (Families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae) Volume I: General introduction and Carps (Family Cyprinidae). Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1 - 1263. Available at: http://www.briancoad.com/species%20accounts/Carps%20of%20Iran%2010Sept2opt1.pdf (Accessed January 2023).