Alburnoides velioglui, Turan, Kaya, Ekmekci & Dogan, 2014

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 303-304

Alburnoides velioglui

Common name. Mesopotamian spirlin.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnoides in Euphrates and Tigris drainages by: ○ horizontal eye diameter smaller than interorbital distance / ○ 5−6 gill rakers / ○ ventral keel completely covered by scales / ○ no pronounced chin / ○ mouth terminal or subterminal / ○ tip of mouth situated at a horizontal line with lower margin of pupil or below up to lower margin of eye in larger individuals /○ anal with slightly or clearly pointed tips and slightly or markedly concave outer margins / ○ 44−52+2−3, usually 46–48+2–3 lateral-line scales / ○ caudal lobes rounded / ○ 8½, rarely 9½, branched dorsal rays / ○ 11−13½ branched anal rays / ○ 41−42, usually 42, total vertebrae. Size up to 88 mm SL.

Distribution. Middle and upper Euphrates drainage in Türkiye, also found in Sirvan drainage in Iraq.

Habitat. Streams and rivers with fast-flowing water, usually with cobble and gravel substrate.

Biology. No data.

Upper GÖksu in Euphrates drainage is a habitat of Alburnoides velioglui .

Conservation status. LC.

Further reading. Turan et al. 2014a (description); Bektaş et al. 2019 (phylogeny); Canoğlu et al. 2023 (barcoding).

Copernicus Service information 2024

Alpaslan II Dam at the Murat, Türkiye.

Dammed: the current-day Euphrates. Climate change is worsening everything in an area in conjunction with limited rainfall and uncontrolled human population growth. In this context, a large river is seen as just the water it transports. There is a consensus that water should be used and not lost to adjacent countries or the sea. Since the early times of humanity, water from the Euphrates has been diverted for irrigation, drinking, and other purposes. The construction of the first modern water diversion structures commenced in Iraq with the erection of the Hindiya Barrage at the Iraqi Euphrates in 1913. This diverted the water of the Euphrates into irrigation canals. Another dam, the Ramadi Barrage, was constructed in 1951 in Iraq. It diverted water from the Euphrates into Lake Habbaniya to control floods. Subsequently, the Syrian Tabqa Dam (1974), the Iraqi Haditha Dam (1986), and the Syrian Tishrin Dam (1999) were constructed on the Euphrates. Following the construction of the Karakaya Dam (1987), major projects such as the Keban (1975) and Atatürk Dams (1992) were initiated as part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project in the early 1980s. Türkiye planned to incorporate 21 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants into a project designed to use the waters from the Euphrates and Tigris headwaters to vitalise economic, social, and cultural life. The construction of these dams and their reservoirs has significantly impacted the environment of the upper and middle Euphrates. The water flow of the Euphrates decreased, especially in its lower reaches, by 60–90 %, reducing the amount of water available for humans and biodiversity, and increasing its salinity. Nevertheless, more than 600 km of free-flowing river habitats remain, especially in the lower Euphrates in Iraq. This is still a significant proportion of the once large river of Mesopotamia and may be sufficient for its fish to survive. Further reading. Alwan 2013 (Euphrates).