Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843)

Saad, Adib, Çiçek, Erdoğan, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil & Eagderi, Soheil, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5350 (1), pp. 1-62 : 15-16

Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843) [N]—Red garra; Lahhas alhajar

Taxonomy. Original description: Discognathus rufus Heckel, 1843a: 1071 (81) [Aleppo, Syria; lectotype: NMW 53240 (108 mm SL); lectotype selected by Krupp & Schneider (1989: 368)].—Syrian synonyms: Discognathus obtusus Heckel, 1843 ; Discognathus crenulatus Heckel, 1847 .—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Heckel (1843b: pl. 8, fig. 2) as Discognathus rufus .

Status in Syria. Recorded from Syria in original description by Heckel (1843a: 1072, 1073) as Discognathus rufus and D. obtusus ; subsequently reported by Beckman (1962: 126) as Garra rufus ; Ali (2003); Saad et al. (2006); Barakat et al. (2020).—Syrian material: BMNH, MCZ, MNHN, NMW, MSL.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Euphrates and Tigris river basins, Al Abrach, Kais and Orontes rivers.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Dajleh & Khabour, 2-Euphrates & Aleppo, 3-Desert, 4-Orontes, 5- Barada & Awaj, 6-Coastal, 7-Al-Yarmouk.—General distribution: Asia Minor: Euphrates and Tigris river basins ( Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran).—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 437-Orontes, 438- Jordan River, 440-Arabian Interior, 441-Lower Tigris & Euphrates, 442-Upper Tigris & Euphrates.—Habitat: This species inhabits a very wide range of flowing water habitats, from fast-flowing headwaters and reservoirs to polluted canals and large lowland rivers. Usually absent from standing waters. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Locally consumed, but of no commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: There are many threats in the area, but none is serious enough to seriously impact this species.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.—Low priority for conservation action.