Anatolichthys iconii (Aksiray, 1948)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 705-706

Anatolichthys iconii

Common name. Eğirdir killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Anatolichthys by: ● male with black dorsal, with a wide, hyaline or white, proximal band / ○ male with black dorsal base / ○ last lateral bar in male regularly shaped, not fused with penultimate bar / ○ female with bold back spots or/and blotches on flank / ○ male with yellow or white anal with a narrow black margin / ○ male with 1–4 bold black vertical bars on caudal / ○ body completely covered with overlapping scales. Size up to about 50 mm SL.

Distribution. Lake Eğirdir and Kovada basins. Also in two springs in upper Köprüçay and Aksu.

Habitat. Lakeshores, springs, and streams, usually with dense vegetation.

Biology. Live up to 4 years; feeds mainly on aquatic insect larvae, amphipods and diatoms. Population size in Eğirdir fluctuates in parallel with Atherina population.

Conservation status. VU; had declined sharply in Lake Eğirdir before about 2006 but has increased since then, presumably following the disappearance of predation by Sander lucioperca due to overfishing. It is now declining again as the lake level is falling.

Further reading. Akşıray 1948 (description); Küçük et al. 2009b (population increase); Geiger et al. 2014 (phylogeny); Freyhof et al. 2017b ( Neotype designation); Yoğurtçuoğlu & Freyhof 2018 (identification); Güçlü 2012 (biology; as Aphanius anatoliae ).

Anatolichthys irregularis ; Kaklık spring, Türkiye; female, 52 mm SL. Anatolichthys irregularis ; Kaklık spring, Türkiye; male, 35 mm SL.