Garra mamshuqa

Common name. Hadhramaut garra.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Dhofar (Oman) by: ● groove between tip of snout and nostrils deep / ○ usually 8½, rarely 7½, branched dorsal rays / ○ 34−36 total lateral-line scales / ○ usually 12 circumpeduncular scales / ○ 15−17 gill rakers on lower limb of first gill arch / ○ tubercles on snout present / ○ gular disc as long as wide or longer than wide / ○ dorsal hyaline or pale-brown with black spots at bases of branched rays. Size up to 74 mm SL, likely to grow larger.

Distribution . Yemen: Wadi Hadhramaut –Wadi Masila drainage.

Habitat. Wadis with high seasonal fluctuations in discharge over soft substrate, gravel, or bare rock.

Biology. Feeds mainly on periphyton.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range due to water abstraction and climate change.

Further reading. Krupp 1983 (description); Banister 1987 (comparison with G. lautior); Freyhof et al. 2020 (distribution, identification).