Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, a new loach from Karkheh River drainage, Iran (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)

Abstract

Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, new species, from Karkheh River drainage, Iran, is distinguished from other species of Oxynoemacheilus by having two lateral pores in each side of the supratemporal canal and no central pore, no suborbital flap or suborbital groove in males, a slightly emarginate caudal fin, an incomplete lateral line, a very long head, and distinct, large and vertically elongated blotches on flank, most prominent behind dorsal-fin base. © 2011 by Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, Germany - ISSN 0936-9902.

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ISSN 0936-9902
Ichthyological Exploration
of Freshwaters
Volume 22
Number 3
An international journal for field-orientated ichthyology
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Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters
An international journal for field-orientated ichthyology
Volume 22 • Number 3 • September 2011
pages 193-288, 53 figs., 10 tabs.
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201
Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. 3
Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 201-208, 4 figs., 1 tab., September 2011
© 2011 by Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München, Germany – ISSN 0936-9902
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii,
a new loach from Karkheh River drainage, Iran
(Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)
Kiavash Golzarianpour*, Asghar Abdoli** and Jörg Freyhof***
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, new species, from Karkheh River drainage, Iran, is distinguished from other species of
Oxynoemacheilus by having two lateral pores in each side of the supratemporal canal and no central pore, no
suborbital flap or suborbital groove in males, a slightly emarginate caudal fin, an incomplete lateral line, a very
long head, and distinct, large and vertically elongated blotches on flank, most prominent behind dorsal-fin base.
* Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Gonbad Kavous University, Gonbad, Iran; and
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, G. C., Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: kiavash.pro@gmail.comE-mail: kiavash.pro@gmail.com
** Department of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid
Beheshti University, G. C., Tehran, Iran. E-mail: asabdoli@yahoo.com
*** Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12561 Berlin, Germany.
E-mail: freyhof@igb-berlin.de
Introduction
The main obstacles in the study of the nemachei-
lid loaches of the Middle East are the confused
definitions of the genera (see Freyhof et al., 2011)
and the high number of poorly diagnosed species
described from this area. For example, nemachei-
lid loaches occur in almost all water bodies in
Iran (Abdoli, 2000) but Nalbant & Bianco (1998),
who reviewed the nemacheilid loaches of that
country, mentioned only 14 species and sug-
gested that additional nine species do occur as
they are known from adjacent areas but have not
yet been found in Iran (Nalbant & Bianco, 1998).
Since, only Turcinemacheilus kosswigi was added
to the fauna of the country (Golzarianpour et al.,
2009) and Ilamnemacheilus longipinnis has been
described as a new species from Iran (Coad &
Nalbant, 2005). Not even very ubiquitous species
such as Oxynoemacheilus argyrogramma, which is
present at almost every locality in the Euphrates
and Tigris drainages in Turkey, have been re-
corded from Iran, simply because most nemachei-
lid species from the Middle East are poorly diag-
nosed and almost impossible to identify. During
several field campaigns in Turkey, Syria, Jordan
and Iran, we were able to collect fresh material
from the type localities of most Middle East
nemacheilid species and the types of 15 species
have been examined (Freyhof et al., 2011). These
background data allow us to compare unidenti-
fied nemacheilids with described species. While
it is still premature to publish a full taxonomic
review of nemacheilids of the Middle East, the

202 Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
Golzarianpour et al.: Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
available background data already allow describ-
ing new species from certain species groups. It is
the aim of this study to describe a very distinct
new species of Oxynoemacheilus from Iran.
Material and methods
All fish except the holotype and FSJF 3224 were
preserved in 5 % formaldehyde and stored in
70 % ethanol. The holotype and FSJF 3224 were
preserved in 99 % ethanol. Measurements were
made with dial caliper and recorded to 0.1 mm.
All measurements are made point to point,
never by projections. Methods for counts and
measurements follow Kottelat & Freyhof (2007).
Standard length (SL) is measured from the tip of
the snout to the end of the hypural complex. The
length of the caudal peduncle is measured from
behind the base of the last anal-fin ray to the end
of the hypural complex, at mid-height of the
caudal-fin base. The depth of the caudal peduncle
is measured directly anterior to the ventral adi-
pose crest including the dorsal crest if present.
The last two branched rays articulating on a
single pterygiophore in the dorsal and anal fins
are noted as “1 1
/
2
”. The holotype is included in
the calculation of means and SD.
Abbreviations used: SL, standard length; HL,
lateral head length; CMK, Collection of Maurice
Kottelat, Cornol; FSJF, Fischsammlung J. Freyhof,
Berlin; FCKG, Fish Collection K. Golzarianpour,
Tehran; HUIC, Department of Biology, Hacette-
pe University, Ankara; IZA, Universita degli
Studi dell’Aquila, Instituto di Zoologia, Aquila;
NMP, National Museum, Prague; NMW, Natur-
historisches Museum, Vienna; ZFMK, Zoologi-
sches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig,
Bonn; ZISP, Zoological Institute of Russian Acad-
emy of Sciences, St. Petersburg; ZMH, Zoologi-
sches Museum Hamburg. See Freyhof et al. (2011)
for a detailed list of specimens examined.
No material of O. lenkoranensis and O. leontinae
was available to us. We use the data published
by Abdurakhmanov (1962) and Krupp (1985),
respectively.
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, new species
(Figs. 1-3)
Holotype. ZFMK 41847, 54.5 mm SL; Iran: Ha-
madan prov.: stream Dehnoo, 3 km west of Na-
havand on road from Nahavand to Sarab-e-
Gamasiab, 34°10' N 48°24' E; K. Golzarianpour, 10
May 2007.
Paratype. All from Iran: Hamadan prov.: FCKG
8658, 8, 31.4-50.7 mm SL; FCKG 8659, 7, 33.1-
56.55 mm SL; FSJF 3003, 7, 33.6-53.3 mm SL; same
locality as holotype; K. Golzarianpour, 4 July 2010.
– FSJF 3004, 2, 38.4-44.4 mm SL; stream Babaros-
tam, a tributary to Gamasiab River; 34°10'18" N
48°21'23" E; A. Abdoli & K. Golzarianpour, 15 Mar
2008.
Additional material (non types). FSJF 3224, 16, 34-
49 mm SL; Iran: Hamadan prov.: Gamasiab River.
Diagnosis. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished
from all other species of Oxynoemacheilus by hav-
ing two, rarely one or three lateral pores in the
Fig. 1. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, ZFMK 41847, holotype, 54.5 mm SL; Iran: stream Dehnoo. Note that the black spots
on body and fins are not part of the colour pattern but the result of a severe diplostomiasis infection that affected
all collected specimens.

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Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. 3
Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
supratemporal canal and no central pore; no
suborbital flap or groove in males; caudal fin
slightly emarginate; lateral line incomplete, reach-
ing dorsal-fin base; head very long (length 26-
30 % SL); pectoral fin short, not reaching to pelvic-
fin origin; dorsal adipose crest shallow, reaching
from vertical of base of last anal-fin ray to ante-
rior part of caudal fin; distinct, large, vertically
elongated blotches on flank, most prominent
behind dorsal-fin base.
Description. See Figures 1-3 for general appear-
ance and Table 1 for morphometric data of holo-
type and 16 paratypes. Small, stout and deep
bodied species with long and wide head. Body
deepest at about midline between nape and
dorsal-fin origin, depth decreasing slightly to-
wards caudal-fin base. A conspicuous hump at
nape in many individuals. Greatest body width
behind head. Section of head trapezoid, flattened
on dorsal and ventral surface. Caudal peduncle
compressed laterally, 0.8-1.2 (mean 1.0) times
longer than deep. A short, triangular axillary lobe
at base of pelvic fin, completely attached to body.
Pelvic-fin origin below branched dorsal-fin rays
1-2. Pectoral fin reaching approximately 60-75 %
of distance from pectoral-fin origin to pelvic-fin
origin. Pelvic fin not reaching or reaching anus.
Anus situated about one eye diameter in front of
anal-fin origin. Anal fin not reaching caudal-fin
base. Dorsal adipose crest on caudal peduncle
reaching forward to vertical of base of last anal-fin
Fig. 2. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, ZFMK 41847, holotype, 54.5 mm SL; Iran: stream Dehnoo. Note that the black spots
on body and fins are not part of the colour pattern but the result of a severe diplostomiasis infection that affected
all collected specimens.
Fig. 3. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, FCKG 8658, paratype, 45.1 mm SL; Iran: stream Dehnoo. Note that the black spots
on body and fins are not part of the colour pattern but the result of a severe diplostomiasis infection that affected
all collected specimens.

204 Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
ray. Shallow ventral adipose crest on caudal
peduncle reaching forward below middle of last
anal-fin ray when folded along caudal peduncle.
Margin of dorsal fin convex. Caudal fin slightly
emarginate. Median caudal-fin rays 82-96 %
(mean 88) of length of upper caudal-fin lobe.
Largest known specimen 56.5 mm SL.
Dorsal fin with 8
1
/
2 branched rays. Anal fin
with 5
1
/
2 branched rays. Caudal fin with 8 + 8
branched rays. Pectoral fin with 10 and pelvic fin
with 8 rays. Body covered by embedded scales,
except on back in front of dorsal fin and belly.
Lateral line incomplete, with 18-29 pores, reach-
ing under dorsal-fin base. Anterior nostril open-
ing on anterior side of a low, pointed and flap-like
tube. Nostrils separate, posterior tip of anterior
nostril not reaching to posterior nostril when
folded down. Two lateral pores in supratemporal
canal, no central pore. In two individuals one
lateral pore on left side and two on right side, in
one individual three pores on each side. No cen-
tral pore in supratemporal canal but in one indi-
vidual, both upper lateral pores almost on mid-
line. No suborbital flap or groove in males.
A shallow, wide groove on snout between eye
and base of outer rostral barbel in both sexes.
Mouth small, strongly arched. Lips thick, with
well marked furrows. A deep median interruption
in lower lip. A small median incision in upper
lip. Processus dentiformis small and pointed. No
median notch in lower jaw. Barbels very short,
inner rostral barbel not reaching base of maxillary
barbel; outer one reaching slightly beyond base
of maxillary barbel, not reaching vertical of ante-
rior margin of eye. Maxillary barbel reaching
vertical of middle of eye. Males with slightly
longer pectoral fin than females.
Coloration. Body pale brown in life and grey in
preserved individuals. Flank with 10-19 large,
Golzarianpour et al.: Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
Table 1. Morphometric data of Oxynoemacheilus kiabii (holotype ZFMK 41847, paratypes FCKG 8658, FCKG
8659; n = 16).
holotype range including holotype
mean min max SD
Standard length (mm) 54.5 41.3 31.4 52.2 6.3
In percent of standard length
Head length 22.7 25.2 23.3 28.4 1.4
Body depth at dorsal-fin origin 22.9 22.7 20.0 25.2 1.7
Prepectoral length 27.5 27.7 24.5 30.4 1.3
Predorsal length 52.1 53.9 48.2 57.2 2.1
Postdorsal length 34.9 35.5 31.8 38.0 1.8
Preanal length 79.6 78.0 75.0 84.6 2.0
Prepelvic length 58.0 58.2 53.7 63.1 2.3
Distance between pectoral and pelvic-fin origins 25.9 28.3 24.6 31.7 1.8
Distance between pelvic and anal-fin origins 16.6 17.1 14.0 19.5 1.4
Distance between vent and anal-fin origin 2.8 2.0 1.1 2.6 0.5
Depth of caudal peduncle 15.3 14.7 13.0 16.8 1.1
Length of caudal peduncle 13.0 17.6 15.8 20.0 1.1
Dorsal-fin depth 19.1 19.5 17.0 21.6 1.2
Anal-fin base length 7.7 8.1 6.5 9.2 0.8
Pectoral-fin length 18.2 19.4 17.1 21.4 1.2
Pelvic-fin length 11.8 13.7 12.1 14.4 0.6
In percent of head length
Head depth at eye 79.5 72.6 64.3 84.1 5.2
Snout length 45.7 45.6 32.2 52.0 4.8
Eye diameter 20.4 21.6 17.5 26.9 2.1
Postorbital distance 56.8 53.3 44.5 60.4 4.1
Maximum head width 85.5 82.9 71.3 94.8 6.4
Interorbital width 38.9 41.5 37.8 47.7 2.7
Length of inner rostral barbel 17.5 19.1 12.8 26.5 2.9
Length of outer rostral barbel 26.6 22.8 17.4 31.7 3.4
Length of maxillary barbel 23.7 26.7 17.6 38.5 5.3

205
Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. 3
Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
irregular shaped, dark brown or black blotches.
Flank blotches in front of dorsal fin origin usu-
ally smaller and organised in very irregular
vertical rows of 2-3 blotches in some individuals,
dissociated into a mottled pattern in other indi-
viduals. Blotches usually narrower or equally
spaced compared to interspaces on anterior body
and wider than interspaces on posterior body.
Blotches more regular on body behind dorsal-fin
origin, vertically elongated and forming bars.
Lateral blotches usually dissociated from similar
sized blotches on predorsal back. Blotches never
forming saddles. Flank blotches smaller below
than above lateral line. An irregularly shaped,
prominent dark brown or black bar at posterior
extremity of caudal peduncle dissociated into two
half-moon shaped blotches in some individuals.
Head with many small spots and blotches some-
times fused into a marbled pattern. Dorsal and
caudal fins with a tessellated pattern on rays,
spots forming 2-3 narrow and irregular bars on
caudal fin and 3 wide bands on dorsal fin. Anal-,
pelvic- and pectoral fins with few dark brown or
black spots on rays.
Note that the black spots on body and fins in
specimens on Figures 1-3 are not part of the
colour pattern but the result of a severe infection
by diplostomiasis that affected all collected
specimens; as a result, it is not possible to illustrate
an intact individual. The infection masks the tes-
selated pattern on the fins.
Distribution and habitat. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
was collected in the Karkheh River drainage. The
Karkheh is a tributary of the Karoun, which flows
into the lowermost part of the Tigris. It was col-
lected in clear water streams with swift current
(Fig. 4).
Etymology. The species is named for Bahram H.
Kiabi in appreciation for his contribution to the
conservation of the vertebrates of Iran, especially
fishes.
Remarks. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is described in
the genus Oxynoemacheilus following the key of
Middle East loaches provided by Freyhof et al.
(2011). It is also superficially very similar to
O. frenatus, O. tongiorgii and O. panthera; unpub-
lished molecular data show that these species
belong to Oxynoemacheilus. Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
belongs to a group of species which lack a sub-
orbital flap or suborbital groove in males (vs.
present in O. anatolicus, O. angorae, O. araxensis,
O. banarescui, O. bergianus, O. brandtii, O. bureschi,
O. cinica, O. erdali, O. eregliensis, O. evreni, O. ger-
mencicus, O. hamwii, O. mediterraneus, O. paucilepis,
O. phoxinoides, O. pindus, O. samanticus, O. seyhani-
cola, O. simavicus, O. theophilii and O. tongiorgii).
In O. kosswigi and O. merga the outline of the
suborbital groove is still visible in some indi-
viduals but its lower edge is completely fused
with the surrounding skin and there is no slit. In
O. argyrogramma, a species usually without sub-
orbital flap or groove, there are individuals, in
which the flap is completely covered by skin and
invisible externally. In other individuals there is
a short slit in the skin at the lower margin of the
lachrymal bone while in other individuals there
is an open, long slit at the lower margin of the
bone and the posterior margin of the lachrymal
bone is elevated.
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is similar to O. argyro-
gramma, O. ceyhanensis, O. insignis, O. kosswigi,
O. lenkoranensis, O. merga and O. namiri by the
absence of a suborbital flap or groove (sometimes
present in O. argyrogramma). It is distinguished
from these species by having a very slightly
emarginate caudal fin (vs. deeply emarginate or
forked). The caudal fin is also slightly emarginate
in O. cyri, O. ercisianus, O. frenatus, O. galilaeus,
O. kaynaki, O. kermanshahensis, O. leontinae, O. pan-
thera, O. seyhanensis and O. tigris and these species
also lack a suborbital flap or groove. It is unknown
whether males O. leontinae have a suborbital flap
and we were not able to examine material of this
species.
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. frenatus, O. galilaeus, O. kermanshahensis, O. sey-
hanensis and O. tigris by the absence of the central
pore in the supratemporal canal (vs. central pore
present) and by having usually two lateral pores
in each side of the supratemporal canal (vs. one).
The middle supratemporal pore is present and
there are two lateral pores in each side of the
canal in O. kaynaki. In O. cyri, O. ercisianus and
O. panthera, the middle pore is absent in most but
not all individuals and there are 1-3 lateral pores
in each side of the canal, often set in an asym-
metric pattern. We have no information about the
pores in the supratemporal canal in O. leontinae
as we were not able to examine material of this
species. Species with a suborbital flap or groove
or with deeply emarginate or forked caudal fin
were not examined for this character.
Beside the absence of the median pore in the

206 Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
supratemporal canal, O. kiabii is distinguished
from O. kaynaki and O. seyhanensis by an incom-
plete lateral line reaching under the base of the
dorsal-fin (vs. complete, reaching to posteriormost
part of caudal peduncle) and a color pattern of
very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches (vs. marbled). The lateral line is also
incomplete in O. cyri, O. ercisianus, O. frenatus,
O. galilaeus, O. leontinae, O. kermanshahensis,
O. panthera and O. tigris.
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii occurs in sympathy
with O. kermanshahensis in Karkheh drainage.
Besides having four (vs. three) pores in the su-
pratemporal canal, O. kiabii is further distin-
guished from O. kermanshahensis by a color pattern
of very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches (vs. a prominent, irregularly shaped
midlateral stripe from head to caudal-fin base),
a longer head (length 26-30 % SL vs. 16-23), and
a shorter snout (32-52 % HL vs. 42-58).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is sympatric and even
syntopic with O. frenatus, which is very wide-
Golzarianpour et al.: Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
spread in Euphrates and Tigris drainages. Oxy-
noemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from O. frena-
tus by the absence of a central pore usually in the
supratemporal canal (vs. presence), four to six
pores in the supratemporal canal (vs. usually three
pores, five in one individual), a color pattern of
very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches most distinct on flank behind dorsal-fin
base (vs. flanks irregularly spotted or marbled),
a longer head (length 26-30 % SL vs. 23-26) and
a smaller predorsal distance (48-52 % SL vs. 51-
56).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. galilaeus from Jordan drainage by the flank
covered by scales (vs. absent), 8
1
/
2 branched
dorsal-fin rays (vs. 9 1
/
2-11 1
/
2) and a color pattern
of very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches (vs. small dots).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. leontinae from Litani and Jordan drainages by
a color pattern of very large, vertically elongated
and distinct blotches (vs. irregularly marbled or
Fig. 4. Stream Dehnoo, type locality of Oxynoemacheilus kiabii.

207
Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. 3
Copyright © Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
with small dots) and by having a longer head (HL
26-30 % SL vs. 22-26).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. ercisianus from Lake Van basin by having a
deeper caudal peduncle (depth 0.8-1.2 times in
its length vs. 1.5-1.9) and a longer head (HL 26-
30 % SL vs. 23-26).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. panthera from endorheic streams near Damas-
cus by a longer head (HL 26-30 % SL vs. 25-26)
and a shorter dorsal adipose crest reaching for-
ward to the vertical of the base of the last anal-fin
ray (vs. long crest reaching forward to the poste-
rior tip of the dorsal fin when folded down or
even below the last dorsal fin-rays, elevated in
middle in some individuals), and a color pattern
of very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches (vs. irregularly marbled or with small
dots).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. tigis from Qweik and Euphrates drainages by
having a shorter dorsal adipose crest reaching
forward to the vertical of the base of the last anal-
fin ray (vs. long crest starting between the tip of
the last dorsal-fin ray to the anterior half of the
anal-fin base, elevated in middle in some indi-
viduals), a color pattern of very large, vertically
elongated and distinct blotches (vs. irregularly
set bars) and a longer head (HL 26-30 % SL vs.
22-26).
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is distinguished from
O. cyri from Kura and Aras Rivers by a color pat-
tern of very large, vertically elongated and distinct
blotches usually not meeting on the back (vs.
regular or irregular set bars meeting on back) and
a longer head (HL 26-30 % SL vs. 24-26). In O. cyri,
there is a variable pattern of pores in the supratem-
poral canal, some individuals have three pores
including the central pore, others have four in a
symetric pattern without a central pore, others
have four pores in a asymmetric pattern and one
individual has six pores in an asymmetric pat-
tern.
Oxynoemacheilus kiabii is superficially similar
to the two species of Seminemacheilus by lacking
a suborbital flap in males, having a slightly emar-
ginate caudal fin and an incomplete lateral line.
It is distinguished from Seminemacheilus lendlii
and S. ispartaensis by the short pectoral fin in males
(reaching to 60-75 % of distance between pectoral-
fin and pelvic-fin origins vs. reaching beyond
vertical of dorsal-fin origin) and by a different
colour pattern (prominent large blotches without
sexual dimorphism vs. small spots and dots in
females, a dark lateral stripe in males in some
populations). It is further distinguished from
S. ispartaensis by having 8
1
/
2 dorsal-fin rays (vs.
7 1
/
2) and from S. lendlii by the lateral-line reaching
the vertical of the dorsal-fin origin (vs. not reach-
ing). Also, O. kiabii is a small species with very
short barbels while S. ispartaensis reaches 90 mm
SL and both Seminemacheilus have very long bar-
bels. Seminemacheilus tongiorgii was transferred to
Oxynoemacheilus by Freyhof et al. (2011). Oxy-
noemacheilus kiabii is immediately distinguished
from O. tongiorgii by the absence of a suborbital
flap in males (vs. presence).
Acknowledgment
We are pleased to thank Alexander Naseka (ZISP) for
examining O. lenkoranensis for us, Füsun Erk’akan
(HUIC), Ralf Thiel (ZMH) and Helmut Wellendorf
(NMW) for allowing JF to examine materials in their
collections, Pier Giorgio Bianco (IZA) for the paratypes
of O. farsicus, Radek Sanda (NMP) for the loan of O. pin-
dus, Maurice Kottelat (CMK) for the loan of O. cyri and
helpful comments on the manuscript, Mahdi Ghalenoi
(Tehran) for help during fieldwork in Iran, Müfit
Özulug, Cem Dalyan and Özcan Gaygusuz (Istanbul)
for help during fieldwork in Turkey, Nisreen Alwan,
Kai Borkenhagen, and Florian Wicker (Frankfurt) for
help during fieldwork in Syria and Jordan, and Kayvan
Abbasi for providing material of O. bergianus from
Sefid River. We especially thank Babak Hafezi (Tehran),
for accompanying us on many terrible roads in the field
in Iran.
References
Abdurakhmanov, Y. A. 1962. [Freshwater fishes of
Azerbaidzhan]. Akademii Nauk Azerbaidzhanskoi
SSR, Institut Zoologii, Baku, 407 pp.
Erk’akan, F., T. T. Nalbant & S. C. Özeren. 2007. Seven
new species of Barbatula, three new species of
Schistura and a new species of Seminemacheilus
(Ostariophsi: Balitoridae: Nemachilinae) from Tur-
key. Journal of Fisheries International, 2: 69-85.
Freyhof, J., F. Erk’akan, C. Özeren & A. Perdices. 2011.
An overview of the western Palaearctic loach genus
Oxynoemacheilus (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae). Ich-
thyological Exploration of Freshwaters, in press.
Golzarianpour, K., A. Abdoli, B. Kiabi & J. Freyhof.
2009. First record of the miniature loach Turci-
noemacheilus kosswigi (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) in
the Karoun drainage, Iran. Zoology of the Middle
East, 47: 57-62.

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Golzarianpour et al.: Oxynoemacheilus kiabii
Kottelat, M. & J. Freyhof. 2007. Handbook of European
freshwater fishes. Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof,
Berlin, xiv + 646 pp.
Krupp, F. 1985. Systematik und Zoogeographie der
Süsswasserfische des levantinischen Grabenbruch-
systems und der Ostküste des Mittelmeers. Disser-
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and adjacent regions with description of six new
species (Cobitoidea). Italian Journal of Zoology, 65:
109-123.
Received 30 March 2011
Revised 12 September 2011
Accepted 8 October 2011

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INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS
Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters
An international journal for field-orientated ichthyology

Articles appearing in this journal are indexed in:
AQUATIC SCIENCES and FISHERIES ABSTRACTS
BIOLIS - BIOLOGISCHE LITERATUR INFORMATION SENCKENBERG
CAMBRIDGE SCIENTIFIC ABSTRACTS
CURRENT CONTENTS/AGRICULTURE, BIOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES and SCIE
FISHLIT
ZOOLOGICAL RECORD
C O N T E N T S
Ou, Chouly, Carmen G. Montaña, Kirk O. Winemiller and Kevin W. Conway: Schistura
diminuta, a new miniature loach from the Mekong River drainage of Cambodia (Tele-
ostei: Nemacheilidae) ................................................................................................................. 193
Golzarianpour, Kiavash, Asghar Abdoli and Jörg Freyhof: Oxynoemacheilus kiabii, a new
loach from Karkheh River drainage, Iran (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae) ............................... 201
Kottelat, Maurice and Tan Heok Hui: Systomus xouthos, a new cyprinid fish from Borneo,
and revalidation of Puntius pulcher (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) ................................................ 209
Kottelat, Maurice and Tan Heok Hui: Rasbora atranus, a new species of fish from central
Borneo (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) ................................................................................................. 215
Costa, Wilson J. E. M.: Hypsolebias nudiorbitatus, a new seasonal killifish from the Caatinga
of northeastern Brazil, Itapicuru River basin (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) .............. 221
Fernández, Luis, Jael Dominino, Florencia Brancolini and Claudio Baigún: A new catfish
species of the genus Silvinichthys (Teleostei: Trichomycteridae) from Leoncito National
Park, Argentina ........................................................................................................................... 227
Costa, Wilson J. E. M.: Phylogenetic position and taxonomic status of Anablepsoides, Atlan-
tirivulus, Cynodonichthys, Laimosemion and Melanorivulus (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivul-
idae) .............................................................................................................................................. 233
Conway, Kevin W., Maurice Kottelat and Tan Heok Hui: Review of the Southeast Asian
miniature cyprinid genus Sundadanio (Ostariophysi: Cyprinidae) with descriptions of
seven new species from Indonesia and Malaysia .................................................................. 251
Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters
An international journal for field-orientated ichthyology
Volume 22 • Number 3 • September 2011
Cover Photograph
Sundadanio axelrodi (photograph by Koji Yamazaki)
Kevin W. Conway, Maurice Kottelat and Tan Heok Hui
(this volume pp. 251-288)