Aphaniops sirhani (Villwock, Scholl & Krupp, 1983)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 727-731

Aphaniops sirhani

Common name. Azraq killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Aphaniops in West Asia by: ● female with a midlateral row of roundish, black spots, often with additional black spots on flank / ● male with a wide, black dorsal margin / ● dorsal and anal yellow, with or without a narrow black margin and 0–2 short black bands on middle of fin / ○ male with 8–11 distinct bold black or dark-brown lateral bars on flank between head and caudal peduncle / ○ female with a series of dark-grey blotches along midlateral body / ○ male with 1–3 bold, crescent-shaped black bars on caudal / ○ body covered by overlapping scales / ○ caudal truncate or slightly rounded. Size up to 45 mm SL.

Distribution. Jordan: Azraq marsh.

Habitat. Shallow oases, lakes and springs.

Aphaniops sirhani ; Azraq, Jordan; female, ~ 45 mm SL. © N. A. Hamidan.

Biology. Live up to 3 years, mature in a few months, usually late in the year of birth. Biology similar to other Aphaniidae . Conservation status. CR; Azraq marshes almost completely dried up in 1992. Species survived in wetland and had been maintained in Azraq Reserve and outside by captive breeding. Since 1994, 8 % of the marshes (based on their 1960s extent) have been restored. However, the species remains dependent on conservation, as water has to be pumped into the wetland due to a very low water table resulting from increasing water abstraction. Non-native species threaten the restored reserve.

Further reading. Villwock et al. 1983 (description); Freyhof et al. 2017b (molecular data, distribution).

Aphaniops sirhani ; Azraq, Jordan; male, ~ 40 mm SL. © N. A. Hamidan. Aphaniops sirhani is endemic to Azraq wetland in Jordan, which depends on water bought for conservation. Aphaniops stoliczkanus ; Narara-Salt Pans, India; female, 30 mm SL.

Aphaniops stoliczkanus ; Narara-Salt Pans, India; male, 30 mm SL. Aphaniops stoliczkanus ; Wadi Fanja, Oman ; female, 40 mm SL.

Aphaniops stoliczkanus ; Wadi Fanja, Oman ; male, 44 mm SL.

Aphaniops stoliczkanus all times of day and throughout the year. In southern Iraq, Common name. Rajasthan killifish. spawning peaks April–July. Several eggs are laid in each

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Aphani- spawning event, and several spawning events occur daily. ops in West Asia by: ● male usually with wide grey or Eggs are attached to the spawning substrate by sticky filbrown bars at caudal peduncle, often anterior to dorsal aments. Larvae hatch after about 14 days (25°C). Females, base, with roundish or ovoid silvery spots or blotches on juveniles, and non-reproductive males form schools in flank anterior to dorsal base or caudal peduncle / ● tip open water. Salinities up to 14.5 % are tolerated, and salinof dorsal reaching to end of hypural complex in nuptial ities up to 25.0 % are briefly survived. Feeds on a wide male larger than 40 mm SL / ● female with a midlateral variety of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, algae, and series of narrow bars, not much wider in upper part / detritus are usually main components.

○ female with a narrow and long bar at caudal base / ○ Conservation status. LC.

male with 2–3 bold, crescent-shaped black bars on caudal Remarks. Aphaniops teimorii , A. kruppi , and A. ginaonis / ○ male without black dorsal margin / ○ body covered by are other superficially similar species. Aphaniops stoliczoverlapping scales / ○ caudal truncate or slightly rounded kanus has been widely introduced for mosquito control / ○ 6–8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 53 mm SL. in UAE and Oman , and many, if not all, inland populations

Distribution. Shatt al Arab/Arvand and its tributaries, may be non-native. In northern Oman , inland populations recorded from Hammar Marsh, Fallujah, Lake Razzazah sometimes show colour patterns similar to A. kruppi , and and Badrah on Iran / Iraq border east of Baghdad. Also along hybridisation between the two species cannot be excluded. coasts of Persian Gulf basin in Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Further reading. Haas 1982 (biology); Teimori et al. 2012 Arabia, and Oman , except coast of Hormuzgan, and east (diversity in Persian Gulf basin); Freyhof et al. 2017b (molecalong Indian Ocean coast to Rajasthan (north-west India). ular data, distribution).

Aphaniops found as far inland as south of Riyadh in Saudi

Arabia may belong to this species.

Habitat. Euryhaline; widespread in lagoons and estuar-

ies, lower parts of rivers, streams, and all types of inland

waters, especially when brackish or saline. In and around

Hajar Mountains, very common in freshwater habitats,

natural and artificial (including water tanks and cisterns),

with or without significant vegetation.

Biology. May mature within five months, depending on

temperature and food availability. Females mature at

about 25 mm SL, males smaller. Males grow larger than

females. Live up to 3 years. Males territorial during spawn-

ing season defending spawning sites against other males.

Spawns in pairs. In Oman and UAE, spawning occurs at

Aphaniops teimorii ; Govdar, Iran; female, ~ 55 mm SL.

Aphaniops teimorii ; Govdar, Iran; male, 33 mm SL.