Capoeta trutta (Heckel, 1843)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 144-145

Capoeta trutta

Common name. Spotted scraper.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Capoeta in Qweiq, Euphrates, and Tigris drainages by: ● last unbranched dorsal ray very strong, longer than head, strongly serrated / ○ one pair of barbels / ○ flank silvery with many small black spots, spots often only on back in large individuals, rarely without spots / ○ 68–90 total lateral-line scales / ○ 15–17 scale rows between lateral line and dorsal origin / ○ 9–12 scale rows between lateral line and anal origin / ○ 24–29 gill rakers / ○ usually 8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 450 mm SL.

Distribution. Qweiq, Euphrates, Tigris, and Karun drainages.

Habitat. Moderately fast-flowing to standing waters, from mid-sized mountain streams to large lowland rivers. Often

abundant in reservoirs and lakes, from where they migrate to inflowing streams and rivers to spawn.

Biology. Lives up to 10 years. First spawns at 2 (males) and 3 (females) years. Spawns March−July in Tigris in Iraq and May−June in Tigris in Türkiye. Feeds on epilithic algae and detritus. Often grazes top mud layers in reservoirs.

Conservation status. LC; extirpated from Qweiq.

Remarks. Fish with the last unbranched dorsal ray shorter than the head are often identified as C. barroisi , a species endemic to the Orontes drainage.

Further reading. Coad 2010a (description, biology); Kaya 2019 (distribution); Jouladeh-Roudbar et al. 2020 (distribution); Coad 2021a (biology, morphology).

Local fish markets are an important source of fishes for scientists also.

Capoeta trutta often establishes large populations in reservoirs,such as Atatürk reservoir in Türkiye.

How fishes moved between the Euphrates and the Levant. Fish movement between the Euphrates and the Levant is a subject of interest to those studying the region’s biogeography. During most of the Miocene and Pliocene periods, the waters of the Levant flowed either west to the Mediterranean or east to the Euphrates. The first region to become isolated from the Euphrates was the Damascus drainage. Until the Upper Pliocene, the rivers of the present-day Damascus basin flowed through the current oasis of Palmyra to the Euphrates. Following the subsidence of the Damascene Plain and the upheaval of the southeastern Syrian highlands during the Upper Pliocene (approximately 3 million years ago), the rivers of the Damascene Plain became isolated from the Euphrates. At roughly the same time, these rivers began to flow to the upper Jordan drainage. The present endorheic basin of Damascus came into existence only after the basaltic eruptions of the Hauran and Gabal ad-Duruz during the late Pleistocene, which severed its connection with the Jordan. Furthermore, the present-day upper and middle parts of the Orontes flowed independently to the Euphrates. Up to the very early Pleistocene, a connection existed between the Orontes and Jordan – Litani system caused by the movement of the watershed. During that time, fishes could migrate from the Euphrates through the upper Orontes to the Litani and the Jordan. During the lower Pleistocene, the al-Ghab Valley subsided, resulting in the uplifting of Gabal az-Zawiyah Mountain. The uplifting of Gabal az-Zawiyah, which extended toward the Palmyra fold belt, severed the connections between the Proto-Orontes and the Euphrates. This subsequently led to a gradual separation. Currently, except Capoeta damascina , all fish species of the Damascus, Jordan, and Orontes basins are distinguishable from those of the Euphrates. However, the Jordan still shares several species with the Damascus basin (as Oxynoemacheilus insignis , Garra nanus , Tristramella simonis and the very closely related species pair Pseudophoxinus syriacus and P. drusensis ).