Lotidae, Bonaparte, 1835

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 652

Family Lotidae

Burbots

A small family of mostly marine fishes with three genera and approximately 5 species within the diverse order Gadiformes . They are widely distributed, mostly in cold seas of the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. Lota is the only freshwater member of the family, distinguished from marine genera in West Asia by the presence of a single central barbel on the lower jaw, two dorsals, and one anal with 64–84½ total rays. Additionally, the body is

Lota lota ; lower Odra, Germany; ~ 300 mm SL.

marbled dark-brown and lacks a prominent nasal barbel. A single individual of Lota lota was caught in 1920 in the Kura in Azerbaijan, and another record was made in 1921 from the lower Sefid in Iran. At the time, there may have been a small population in the region, but the two individuals were likely the result of accidental migration from the northern Caspian Sea. No populations appear in West Asia, and the species was never native or is now extinct in the region. Further reading. Coad 2016b (distribution in Iran).

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https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111677811-032

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