Sabanejewia, Vladykov, 1929

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 465-466

Sabanejewia

Golden loaches are widely distributed in the northern Aegean, Black, Baltic, Caspian, and Aral basins. There are approximately 10 species of Sabanejewia . Sabanejewia aralensis from the Aral Sea basin has been occasionally reported from the Hari drainage, although its presence here has yet to be confirmed. While superficially similar to Cobitis , Sabanejewia exhibits a markedly different sexual dimorphism. Male Sabanejewia reach the same size as females, lack modifications of the pectoral fins, but exhibit vertical swellings of the flanks in males. The biogeography

of Sabanejewia needs to be better understood. They are related to Cobitis , Misgurnus , Microcobitis , and Bibarba , all found in East Asia. Only Sabanejewia is absent from East Asia, reaching no further east than the Aral basin. The family Cobitidae probably originated in East and Southeast Asia. Consequently, it is anticipated that Sabanejewia may have colonised western Eurasia at an early stage, potentially during the Oligocene, in conjunction with the first Cyprinids. The genus subsequently disappeared from East Asia. Further reading. Sayyadzadeh et al. 2018a (phylogeny); Bohlen et al. 2020 (phylogeny).

Sabanejewia aurata ; Kura drainage, Türkiye; ~ 70 mm SL. © M. Özuluğ.