Leuciscus vorax ( 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 : 21-22

Leuciscus vorax ( Heckel, 1843) [N]—Mesopotamian asp

Taxonomy. Original description: Aspius vorax Heckel, 1843: 21 (24), pl. 9 [Heri Rud River near Herat, Syria; holotype: syntypes: NMW 16527 (1, dry), 76776 (1)].— Iraq synonyms: None.—Revisions: None.— Illustration: Heckel (1843: pl. 10 (fig. 3)) as Aspius vorax .

Status in Iraq. First record from Iraq by Heckel (1843).—Iraq materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Euphrates and Tigris River basins.—General distribution: Middle East: Orontes, Euphrates and Tigris River basins ( Turkey, Iraq, and Iran).—Habitat: This species inhabits large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Migrates from lakes and reservoirs into inflowing rivers or streams to spawn. Sensitive to pollution. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

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