10. Garra smartae Krupp & Budd, 2009, Endemic

Fig. 28

Etymology: Garra: named based on a vernacular Indian name, a fish living in mud; smartae: named in honour of Ms. Emma Smart, Dubai, in recognition of her studies of Arabian wadi fishes and her contributions to the conservation of freshwater habitats in Arabia.

Common name: Wadi Hasik Garra.

Taxonomy: Garra smarti was originally described by Krupp [F.] & Budd [K.] 2009:117, figs.1-4 [aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology v. 15 (no. 2)] Wadi Hasik, 17°26.5’77”’N, 55°13’40.11”E, Dhofar Province, Oman. The species name was dedicated to a woman, so there is a mandatory change to Garra smartae (Fricke et al. 2022).

Holotype: SMF 31301. Paratypes: ONHM uncat. (5); SMF 31302 (4), 31303 (1).

Short description: Garra smartae differs from all other Arabian Garra by the following combination of characters: elongate body with acutely pointed snout tip, consistently III, 7½ dorsal-fin rays, 34–35 scales in the lateral line, 14–16 circumpeduncular scale rows, breast and belly behind pectoral-fin origin fully covered by scales but scales on ventral midline and in front of pectoral-fin base deeply embedded and small or absent, 13–15 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch, mental disc small, usually longer than wide, anus closer to anal-fin origin than in any other Arabian Garra and no tubercle on snout.

Distribution: Restricted to a large waterfall pool in the Hasik village, Dhofar region, Oman (Fig. 29). Here we record the second population of this fish in the Dhofar region (Fig. 29).

Examined material: Based on holotype and paratypes (see Krupp & Budd 2009).