Planiliza abu ( Heckel, 1843 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Jawad, Laith, Eagderi, Soheil, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Mouludi-Saleh, Atta, Sungur, Sevil & Fricke, Ronald, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Iraq: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5357 (1), pp. 1-49 : 31-32

Planiliza abu ( Heckel, 1843) [N]—Abu mullet

Taxonomy. Original description: Mugil abu Heckel, 1843: 1097 [107] [Tigris River, near Mosul, Iraq; syntypes: NMW 9224-30 (7), 67868 (2)].— Iraq synonyms: Chelon abu ( Heckel, 1843) ; Liza abu ( Heckel, 1843) .— Revisions: Thomson (1997: 513 as Liza abu ).—Illustration: Randall (1995: 234, fig., as Chelon abu ).

Status in Iraq. First record from Iraq by Heckel (1843); confirmed by Al-Hassan et al. (1989).—Iraq materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Euphrates and Tigris River drainages.—General distribution: Northwestern Indian Ocean: Persian Gulf and adjacent Euphrates and Tigris River drainages ( Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran).—Habitat: This is a freshwater mullet, found in streams, rivers, drains, channels, canals, lakes, reservoirs, and ponds, including fish farms. It is found in schools. It is found in surface waters and the submerged vegetation of lakes and marshes, preferring a gentle flow of water, and it enters deeper waters in cold winters. Freshwater, brackish, marine.

Economic importance. Locally consumed, but of no commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Iraq: Unknown.—IUCN: LC (IUCN 2023).—Threats: CLI, EUT.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Stable.—Low priority for conservation action.