Salariopsis fluviatilis (Asso, 1801)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 776-777

Salariopsis fluviatilis

Common name. Freshwater blenny.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Salariopsis in West Asia by: ● tiny black dots on cheek usually organised in rows, often with a broad diagonal band of tiny black dots from lower edge of eye downward and backward / ● supraocular tentacle branched, long, usually overlapping 9 th circum-orbital sensory pore / ○ pores of lateral line with white circle / ○ black dots present on cheek and/or upper part of flank. Size up to 130 mm SL.

Distribution. From Atlantic basin in Portugal east to western Anatolia. Also present on larger Mediterranean islands such as Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Crete. Present in Garonne drainage (Atlantic basin in France), possibly due to invasion through Canal du Midi. Introduced to reservoirs in Sakarya and Kızılırmak drainage.

Habitat. Lakes and streams with moderate currents and rocky bottoms; in streams, deepest and fastest microhabitats are preferred, locally in coastal lagoons with low salinity.

Biology. Territorial, lives on and under rocks. Lives up to 5 years. Spawns first time at end of first year. Spawns for up to 3 years, but most females die at end of the first spawning year. Spawns May–August in France, April–July in Spain and Italy, at temperatures above 18°C. Female lays up to 1200 eggs (usually 200–300) in a single layer under a large stone, producing several portions of eggs during a spawning season. Male clean, fan, and defend eggs until hatching. Several females may spawn with one male, who may guard eggs at different stages of development. Eggs hatch in about a week. Larvae are planktonic for about a month until about 15 mm and drift to and

remain in quiet pools or tributaries of rivers. They have a high tolerance for salt water, allowing them to migrate through marine waters. Feeds on insects, crustaceans, and small molluscs.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. The identity of extirpated population in Cyprus remains unclear and may have been S. burcuae , which is found on the adjacent mainland.

Further reading. Wickler 1957 (behaviour); Freeman et al. 1990 (habitat); Gandolfi et al. 1991 (biology); Ferrito & Tigano 1996 (threats); Perdices et al. 2000 (genetics); Doadrio 2001 (biology); Bath 2003 (biology); Kottelat 2004 (diversity); Vinyoles & de Sostoa 2007 (biology); Almada et al. 2009; Laporte et al. 2016a, b (dispersal through sea); Méndez et al. 2019; Wagner et al. 2021 (phylogeography); Yoğurtçuoğlu et al. 2023 (distribution).

Nahr Al Marqīyah in Syria is the habitat of Salariopsis burcuae , Pseudophoxinus hasani and P. zeregi .

Salariopsis renatorum ; Ceyhan drainage, Türkiye; 44 mm SL. Salariopsis renatorum ; Ceyhan drainage, Türkiye; 69 mm SL.