Esmaeilius darabensis (Esmaeili, Teimori, Gholami & Reichenbacher, 2014)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 737-738

Esmaeilius darabensis

Common name. Darab killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Esmaeilius by: ● female with a midlateral series of short, slightly vertically elongated blotches / ○ male with narrow white dorsal and pelvic margin / ○ anal margin white, hyaline or greyish / ○ 10–19 dark-brown bars on flank wider than interspaces / ○ female with a distinctive black spot at caudal base / ○ 23–28 scales in lateral series. Size up to 34 mm SL.

Distribution. Iran: Korsiah Banaki and Golabi springs and Dasht–e Konar wetland in upper Kol drainage.

Habitat. Springs and spring-fed streams.

Biology. No data. Expected to be similar to other Esmaeilius .

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range. Extirpated from Korsiah Banaki. (not shown on the map).

Remarks. This species is related to E. persicus but superficially resembles E. sophiae . Both species are distinguished mainly by molecular characters, and the morphological differences given may be quite vague.

Further reading. Esmaeili et al. 2014a, b (description, biogeography); Esmaeili et al. 2020b (molecular data and distribution); Freyhof & Yoğurtçuoğlu 2020 (generic position).