Tariqilabeo macmahoni (Zugmayer, 1912)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 247

Tariqilabeo macmahoni

Common name. Mashkid latia.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from T. adiscus by: ● usually one pair of rostral barbels; if present, maxillary barbels very short / ● 2−3 scales between anus and anal origin / ● 22−25 total gill rakers / ● maximum body depth 22−30 % SL. Size up to 95 mm SL.

Distribution. Iran: Bahukalat and Sarbaz in Makran region, Mashkid basin in Iran and Pakistan and Makran region in Pakistan.

Habitat. Wide range of running water habitats, including qanats and small coastal streams.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. VU; The 2020 Red List assessment classified Tariqilabeo macmahoni as VU in Pakistan; however, the species' occurrence in Iran was overlooked, and including this range would likely result in a LC status.

Remarks. Often identified as T. diplochilus , a species that has been described from the Indus drainage. Mashkid latia differs from T. diplochilus by having a very short or absent maxillary barb (vs. very long), a long rostral barb (vs. short), and 3–5 scales between anus and anal origin (vs. 2–3). Tariqilabeo iranicus has been recently described from the Makran region of Iran, based on literature, which erroneously states that T. macmahoni lacks fringes on the rostral fold. This is clearly not the case and therefore T. iranicus is a synonym of T. macmahoni .

Further reading. Behrens-Chapuis et al. 2015 (molecular phylogeny); Sayyadzadeh et al. 2015a (description); Ciccotto & Page 2016 (Indus and Iran); Coad 2021a (biology, distribution). Esmaeili et al. 2025 ( T. iranicus ).

In the Helmand river in Iran, the flow of water downstream is only permitted after significant rainfall. This environment is home to a diverse community of fish species, including Tariqilabeo adiscus and snow barbels.