Schistura chrysicristinae, Nalbant, 1998

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 568-569

Schistura chrysicristinae

Common name. Batman loach.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Nemacheilidae in upper Tigris drainage by: ○ flank with wide, pale-brown bars or large, irregularly shaped and set blotches / ○ no black bar or bold black blotches at caudal base / ○ no suborbital flap or groove in male / pectoral in male as large as in female / ○ lateral line incomplete, reaching above anal base / ○ body covered by scales, scales densely set on caudal

peduncle and flank behind dorsal origin, absent on anterior flank / ○ caudal emarginate / ○ 7–8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 36 mm SL, likely to grow larger.

Distribution. Türkiye: Ambar and Batman drainages.

Habitat. Fast-flowing river sections.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range. Not found in Ambar in recent years.

Further reading. Nalbant 1998 (description); Kaya et al. 2025b (description, generic position).