Garra lorestanensis Mousavi-Sabet & Eagderi, 2016
Garra lorestanensis
photo by Mousavi-Sabet, H.

Family:  Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps), subfamily: Labeoninae
Max. size:  5.8 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Asia: Iran.
Diagnosis:  This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: no pigment and eyes (vs. presence of eyes and pigments in all epigean species); with mental disc (vs. absence in G. typhlops), with 2 pairs of barbels (vs. 3 in the sympatric subterranean loach, Paracobitis smithi; 1 in G. variabilis); naked body (vs. body fully covered by scales or scales restricted to lateral midline in G. widdowsoni); a K2P nearest-neighbor distance of 3.8% to G. typhlops and 4.2% to G. rufa (Ref. 107074).
Biology:  Collected from a area with a small pool (about 2 m across narrowing rapidly inside) and flowing exit stream lower down the gorge (only at the beginning of spring for 40-60 days), about 50 m away from the main locality. The stream falls over a high waterfall (about 10 m) so that the locality is isolated from the local fishes in the main river (Ref. 107074).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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