Anatolichthys, Kosswig & Sözer, 1945

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 699-701

Anatolichthys

Anatolichthys is the largest genus of Eurasian killifishes, with all (except one) species occurring in Central Anatolia. They often have restricted distribution ranges in relatively small habitat patches. Two species are found in the Black Sea basin. Anatolichthys is related to Kosswigichthys . All Anatolichthys inhabit inland waters, including springs, lakes, and the shores of rivers. They also inhabit reservoirs. All species mature within a few months after hatching, usually late in the year of birth. Males establish territories along the banks, usually in dense vegetation, but also between rocks, which they defend against rivals. Females spawn with one or more males, usually in algae or other vegetation near the water surface or on gravel bottoms. Few eggs are deposited in the substrate during a spawning event. Individual females produce several clutches of eggs in one day. All species feed on algae, detritus, and small invertebrates. Many springs previously inhabited by Anatolichthys dried out in the late 20 th century, and non-native species now dominated many others. Due to the deteriorating ecological conditions in

Central Anatolia, many populations of Anatolichthys will vanish in the future. One species, A. splendens , became extinct after introducing non-native species for fisheries. An additional, potentially extinct species is known from early 20 th- century records in the Damascus and Jordan basins. This species is similar to A. marassantensis , and it is necessary to determine whether it represents an undescribed species or was introduced to the region. Three species of Anatolichthys are notable for their pelagic habitat and reduced scale coverage, which are adaptations to predator-free, lacustrine environments. However, two of these species are now on the brink of extinction and largely restricted to springs at lake shores, as the ecological conditions in the lakes no longer allow fish to exist there permanently. Further reading. Pellegrin 1923 (unidentified species from Syria); Hrbek et al. 2002 (biogeography); Hrbek & Meyer 2003 (phylogeny, biogeography); Geiger et al. 2014 (phylogeny); Yoğurtçuoğlu & Freyhof 2018 (identification of species); Freyhof & Yoğurtçuoğlu 2020b (generic structure of Aphaniidae ); Freyhof & Yoğurtçuoğlu 2020 (distribution).

5a - Male with irregularly set and shaped, dark-brown bars, bars with white spots or vermiculate pattern, some large individuals’ plain dark-grey with some yellow blotches.

……………… A. irregularis

5b - Male with regularly set and shaped dark-brown or black bars, without white spots in bars.

………………6

6a - Male with a completely black anal or anal white with a wide black margin, with irregularly set and shaped black bands and/or blotches.

……………… A. fontinalis

6b - Male with yellow or white anal with a narrow black margin, usually with 1–5 black bands or rows of blotches.

………………7

7a - Male with 4–14 vertical rows of small black or brown spots on caudal; male with 13–25 narrow brown bars on body; female larger than 40 mm SL usually without back spots or blotches on flank except for one bold black blotch at middle of hypural.

……………… A. villwocki

7b - Male with 1–4 bold black vertical bars on caudal; male with 5–14 black bars on body; female with bold back spots or/and blotches on flank.

………………8

8a - Male with black dorsal base; dorsal with black distal margin and white proximal band or with a proximal row of white spots or blotches distinctly or slightly above dorsal base.

………………9

8b - Male with brown, hyaline, or white dorsal base; dorsal completely black or with greyish or black distal margin and a white line or row of white spots at dorsal base or very slightly above.

………………10

9a - Male with wide, white proximal band in black dorsal; last lateral bar in male regularly shaped, not fused with penultimate bar.

……………… A. iconii

9b - Male with a row of white spots or blotches along or distinctly above dorsal base; last dark-brown bar irregularly or diamond-shaped, usually fused with pre-last bar.

……………… A. maeandricus

10a - Male with rhomboid body shape, dorsal profile straight until vertical of pelvic origin; male with dark-brown bars on caudal peduncle being 2.3–4.0 times as wide as interspaces.

……………… A. danfordii

10b - Body shape ovoid, rarely rhomboid, dorsal profile convex; male with dark-brown bars on caudal peduncle being 0.3–1.8 times as wide as interspaces.

………………11

11a - Male with a completely black dorsal; usually with 6–8 black or dark-brown lateral bars on flank, brown bars in front of dorsal origin narrower than whitish interspaces.

……………… A. meridionalis

11b - Male with a white dorsal base or a white line or row of spots at base of black dorsal; usually with 8–13 brown lateral bars on flank, brown bars wider than whitish interspaces.

………………12

12a - Male with a white line or row of white spots at or very slightly above dorsal base; brown bars as wide as or slightly wider than interspaces. ……………… A. marassantensis

12b - Male usually with grey or whitish dorsal base and a black mid-dorsal band and a hyaline or pale-grey distal dorsal margin, except base, dorsal completely black in some populations; brown bars much wider than interspaces. ……………… A. anatoliae