Garra caudomaculata (Battalgil, 1942)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 183-184

Garra caudomaculata

Common name. Orontes golden barb.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Garra in Central Anatolia, Mediterranean, and Dead Sea basins by: ○ gular disc incomplete / ○ skin behind lower jaw with a wide lateral lobe, very narrow, almost split in middle / ○ lateral lobe on skin behind lower jaw smooth or with indistinct furrows, papillate in middle in some individuals / ○ chin between lateral lobes strongly pointed anteriorly, reaching deeply between lateral lobes / ○ a black spot at posteriormost caudal peduncle in juveniles / ○ 7½ branched dorsal rays /

○ 31−34 scales in total lateral series / ○ lateral line incomplete, with 8−11 pored scales / ○ one pair of very small barbels / ○ scale in rows 2–3 above and below lateral line not more densely pigmented in middle, without stripes / ○ live nuptial male with plain golden flank. Size up to 60 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye and Syria: Orontes drainage and Nahr al-Kabir at border between Syria and Lebanon.

Habitat. Slow-flowing rivers and streams, densely vegetated springs, and wetlands.

Biology. Spawns after first winter. Fractional spawner.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Earlier placed in Hemigrammocapoeta and often considered as a synonym of G. culiciphaga . Garra caudomaculata , G. culiciphaga , and G. nanus form a monophyletic lineage.

Garra cavernicola ; Al-Hoota cave, Oman ; ~ 50 mm SL.

Further reading. Battalgil 1942 (description); Geiger et al. 2014 (molecular phylogeny, placement in Garra ); Hamidan et al. 2014 (revalidation); Behrens-Chapuis et al. 2015 (molecular phylogeny); Bayçelebi 2020 (distribution).

Orontes in Syria, just south of border with Türkiye. Habitat of a rich fish fauna including Garra caudomaculata and G. orontesi .