Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 | DOI 10.3897/zse.96.52241 > PENSUFT. nett BERLIN Taxonomic assessment and distribution of fishes in upper Kura and Aras river drainages Ciineyt Kaya’, Esra Bay¢elebi!, Davut Turan? 1 Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 53100 Rize, Turkey http://zoobank. org/531B8DC0-565A-497B-B390-B6F9A 7444082 Corresponding author: Ciineyt Kaya (cnytkaya@yahoo.com) Academic editor: Nicolas Hubert # Received 19 March 2020 Accepted 18 May 2020 Published 15 June 2020 Abstract In the present study, the actual fish fauna of the upper Kura and Aras river drainages in Turkey were re-examined. The distribution and latest taxonomic status of the species were assessed. The study area comprises the upper part of Kura and Aras river drainages, in Turkey. Overall, 32 sampling sites were prospected between 2004—2018 to inventory fish species in the area and a total of 33 species were recognized, five of which are recorded for the first time from the Turkish part of upper Aras river drainage, namely A/burnus hohenackeri, Blicca bjoerkna, Gobio artvinicus, Neogobius fluviatilis and Rhodeus amarus. Key Words Anatolia, biodiversity, Caspian Sea basin; fish fauna Introduction The Kura and Aras rivers and their tributaries are locat- ed in the south of the Caucasus Mountains. Both rivers originate in Anatolia and flow towards the east. Kura, after leaving the borders of Turkey, passes through Geor- gia, and then flows into Azerbaijan. Aras, before leaving Turkey, flows along the borders between Turkey and Ar- menia, between Turkey and Nakhchivan and then flows throughout the borders between Iran and three countries (Nakhchivan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively). Both rivers further merge in Sabirabad (Azerbaijan) and flow into the Caspian Sea. Fricke et al. (2007) recorded many fish species new to Turkish freshwaters. Most of these records were given from some of the transboundary rivers (e.g. Maritza, Orontes, Tigris-Euphrates and Kura-Aras river systems, and Coruh River). These records were partially accepted and followed as most of these new occurrences were not ascertained through specimens deposited in a national collection. This situation has caused an overestimate of the number of freshwater fish species in Turkey (Cicek et al. 2015, 2018). Cicek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016) listed fish species of the upper Kura-Aras River drainages based on their own observations and earlier records in the literature. They observed 19 species but listed 32 species by includ- ing 13 species that were recorded in the previous studies. Inconsistent and erroneous occurrence records of spe- cies given by previous studies from upper Kura and Aras drainages have resulted in contradictory taxonomic eval- uations among researchers. Therefore, here we attempt to re-assess the fish fauna of the upper Kura and Aras river drainages based on materials from our field surveys and up-to-date taxonomic nomenclature. Material and methods Study area The study area comprises the upper part of Kura and Aras river drainages, the Caspian Sea basin. Overall, 32 sam- pling sites, 9 from Kura and 23 from Aras drainages, were detected to reveal fishes in the area (Table 1). Copyright CUneyt Kaya etal. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 326 Data collection and analyses Fishes were caught between 2004—2018 by Samus 1000 pulsed DC electro-fishing equipment, cast and gill nets from 32 sampling sites (Fig. 1). After anaesthesia, fish spec- imens were fixed in 4% formaldehyde and transferred to the laboratory for further identification. Formalin-fixed speci- mens were deposited at FFR (Recep Tayyip Erdogan Uni- versity Zoology Museum of the Faculty of Fisheries, Rize). We followed Berg (1949) and Kottelat and Freyhof (2007) to identify species, Van der Laan et al. (2015) to arrange species in families. All species were arranged alphabetically within their own families. Common and local names of the species originate from FishBase (Froese and Pauly 2019). If the species are unnamed or do not have a proper name, new names are recommended in this study. The new names are denoted by an asterisk (*) at the end of the name. The global conservation status of the species is provided by In- ternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2020). Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers Results Overall, 33 fish species (Table 1) belonging to nine fami- lies were recognized. The most species-rich family in the area 1s Leuciscidae (10 species), followed by Cyprinidae (7), Salmonidae (4), Gobionidae (3), Nemacheilidae (3), Cobitidae (2), Gobiidae (2), Acheilognathidae (1) and Si- luridae (1). Twenty species, which were reported in earlier studies, were excluded from the fish fauna of the upper Kura-Aras drainages. Some of these species were already highlight- ed as declining by some authors or accepted as extinct (See Table 2 for details). A/burnus hohenackeri Kessler, 1877, Blicca bjoerkna (Linnaeus, 1758), Gobio artvinicus Turan, Japoshvili, Aksu & Bektas, 2016, Neogobius flu- viatilis (Pallas, 1814) and Rhodeus amarus (Bloch, 1782) were recorded for the first time from the upper reaches of Aras River in Turkey. Among these species, A/burnus ho- henackeri was recorded by Fricke et al. (2007) and Ci¢ek Table 1. The species observed in this study according to the sampling sites. Coordinates 41.4371N, 42.6226E No Sampling Site iE Stream Karaman at Observed Species Alburnoides eichwaldii, Barbus cyri, Ponticola cyrius Asikzulal 2 |Stream Cot Suyu 41.2998N, 42.7087E Alburnoides eichwaldii 3 | Stream Kinavur at 41.1976N, 42.6135E Salmo caspius Cataldere 4 |Stream Acikyazi 1.1443N, 42.5908E 4 5 |Stream Toros 41.1115N, 42.4468E 6 |Kura River at 41.0709N, 42.4844E Yalnizgcam Squalius agdamicus Salmo caspius Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filipii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Carassius gibelio, Leucalburnus satunini, Romanogobio macropterus, Squalius agdamicus Kura River Stream Cakir 40.9669N, 42.5861E Acanthobrama microlepis, Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Chondrostoma cyri, Leucalburnus satunini, Oxynoemacheilus cyri, Romanogobio macropterus, Sabanejewia aurata, Squalius agdamicus Stream Olcek 41.1340N, 42.8560E Acanthobrama microlepis, Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Leucalburnus satunini, Oxynoemacheilus brandti, O. cyri, Ponticola cyrius, Sabanejewia aurata, Squalius Aras River Selim agdamicus Lake Aktas 41.1917N, 43.1737E Pseudorasbora parva Stream Dogruyol 41.0620N, 43.3450E Acanthobrama microlepis, Alburnus filipii, Capoeta capoeta, Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum Lake Cildir 41.0449N, 43.2804E | Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Carassius gibelio, Chondrostoma cyri, Cyprinus carpio, Leuciscus aspius, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Squalius turcicus 12 | Stream Buyuk Cayir 40.8431N, 43.3222E Alburnus filippii, Oxynoemacheilus brandtii, O. veyselorum 13 | Stream Fehmiharabesi | 40.7723N, 43.2959E | Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Oxynoemacheilus brandtil, O. veyselorum, Sabanejewia aurata, Squalius turcicus 14 | Stream Tahtakaya 40.8539N, 43.0188E Salmo aff. caspius 15 | Stream Kayalik 40.8201N, 43.1268E Salmo aff. caspius 16 | Stream Incilipinar 40.8211N, 43.0751E Salmo aff. caspius 17 | Steam Susuz at Susuz} 40.7806N, 43.141 1E Alburnoides eichwaldil, Alburnus filippii, Capoeta capoeta 18 | Stream Kars 40.5814N, 43.0591E Alburnoides eichwaldil, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Chondrostoma cyri, Cobitis saniae, Squalius turcicus, Silurus glanis, Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum, Romanogobio macropterus 19 | Stream Maksut¢uk 40.5160N, 42.9510E Alburnoides eichwaldil, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta 20 | Stream Kekeg at 40.4715N, 42.8005E | Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Cobitis saniae, Oxynoemacheilus brandtii, O. veyselorum, Squalius turcicus 22 Stream Boyall 40.4478N, 42.5833E Stream Kars at Catak | 40.4016N, 42.6783E Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum, Squalius turcicus Alburnoides eichwaldii, Squalius turcicus 23 Stream Kizilcubuk 40.3736N, 42.5366E 24 | Stream Keklik 40.2955N, 42.6565E 25 Aras River at Koprugay| 39.9699N, 41.8883E Alburnoides eichwaldii, Capoeta capoeta, Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum Barbus cyri, Salmo cf. ciscaucasicus Alburnoides eichwaldii, Acanthobrama microlepis, Alburnus filippii, Capoeta capoeta, Cobitis saniae, Romanogobio macropterus, Squalius turcicus Stream Digor 40.3731N, 43.4271E Alburnoides eichwaldii, Barbus cyri, Capoeta capoeta, Oxynoemacheilus brandtii, O. veyselorum, Squalius turcicus Aras River west of Donandl 40.1097N, 43.4349E Alburnoides eichwaldii, Acanthobrama microlepis, Capoeta capoeta 28 | Stream Gaziler 40.1072N, 43.4513E Acanthobrama microlepis, Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, Barbus cyri, Carassius gibelio, Cyprinus carpio, Luciobarbus capito, Luciobarbus mursa, Oxynoemacheilus brandtii 29 | Lake Balik 39.7451N, 43.5385E Barbus cyri, Cyprinus carpio, Squalius turcicus, Capoeta capoeta, Salmo cf. ciscaucasicus Stream Aktarla 39.7373N, 43.5815E Alburnoides eichwaldii, Barbus cyri Stream Sarisu 39.5409N, 44.0044E Barbus cyril, Capoeta capoeta B-20 canal at Aralik 39.8936N, 44.5256E zse.pensoft.net Alburnoides eichwaldii, Alburnus filippii, A. hohenackeri Barbus cyri, Blicca bjoerkna, Capoeta kaput, Chondrostoma cyri, Cyprinus carpio, Gobio artvinicus, Neogobius fluviatilis, Rhodeus amarus, Silurus glanis, Squalius turcicus Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 TURKEY 7 4 e) y } i es — a 0.000 3.000 6.000 9,000 12.000 327 18.000 15.000 12.000 9.000 6.000 3.000 15.000 18.000 21,000 Figure 1. Distribution of the sampling sites in the area. Numbers refer the sampling sites indicated in Table 1. et al. (2015), Blicca bjoerkna (as Abramis bjoerkna) by Fricke et al. (2007). In this study, however, the occur- rence of these species was documented for the first time based on newly collected specimens deposited at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Zoology Museum of the Fac- ulty of Fisheries, Rize. Family Cyprinidae Barbus cyri De Filippi, 1865 Fig. 2a Common / local names. Kura barbel / Kura bryikli bal1g1. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. FFR 194, Stream Karaman at Asikztlal, Kura drainage, 41.4413N, 42.6591E. —FFR 219, Kura River at Yalnizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. — FFR 234, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 166, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 217, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. —FFR 8817, Stream Fehmiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. -FFR 188, Stream Maksutcuk west of Dikme, Aras drainage, 40.5160N, 42.9510E. -FFR 195, Stream Kekeg at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. -FFR 216, Stream Boyali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. —FFR 165, Stream Keklik 6 km southeast of Sarikamis, Aras drainage, 40.2955N, 42.6565E. —FFR 220, Stream Digor at Digor, Aras drainage, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. —FFR 215, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donandi, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Not pre- served, Lake Balik at Tanyolu, Aras drainage, 39.7451N, 43.5385E. —FFR 8804, Stream Aktarla at Aktarla, a south- ern drainage of Lake Balik, 39.7373N, 43.5815E. -FFR 221, Stream Sarisu West of Dogubeyazit, Aras drainage, 39. 5409N, 44.0044E. —FFR 233, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in tributaries of Kura and Aras rivers. Capoeta capoeta (Gildenstadt, 1773) Fig. 2b Common / local names. Seven khramulya; Caucasian scraper* / Kafkasya sirazi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). zse.pensoft.net 328 Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers Table 2. List of the species to be excluded from the checklist of Kura-Aras drainages in Turkey. Species Explanation 1 Abramis brama The species reported in the Turkish Kura and Aras drainages by Fricke et al. (2007). Actually, the species is distributed (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Caspian Sea and it is possible to occur in Turkey. However, it was not found by Ci¢ek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016), as well as in our surveys in the area. Therefore, it was omitted from the fishes of upper Kura and Aras drainages until the species has been documented by the observed material. 2 Acipenser persicus The species was erroneously reported in the upper Aras drainages by Fricke et al. (2007), followed by Cicek et al. Borodin, 1897 (2015) and Cigek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016). The species has not been documented by the observed material. 3 Alburnus chalcoides _|Because of the problematic taxonomy of the genus (Bogutskaya et al. 2017), the species was recorded in the Black Sea (Guldenstadt, 1772) |and the Caspian Sea basin in Turkey by many researchers (e.g. Turan 2003; Geldiay and Balik 2007; Fricke et al. 2007; Cicek et al. 2015). However, the occurrence of the third shemaya, except A. filippii and A. hohenackeri, has never been documented by the observed material. 4 Alosa caspia This predominantly marine and estuarine species has never been observed in any parts of the Turkish Kura and Aras (Eichwald, 1838) drainages, except erroneously in a report by Fricke et al. (2007), followed by Cicek et al. (2015) and Ci¢ek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016). 5 Alosa braschnikowi The species was recorded in Turkish Aras drainages as Rutilus sojuchbulagi (Fricke et al. 2007). However, it is a brackish (Borodin, 1904) species and nonanadrom (Afraei Bandpei et al. 2012). Therefore, the occurrence of the species in the Turkish Aras River is not deemed likely. 6 Caspiomyzon wagneri ||t is an endemic lamprey to the Caspian Sea basin and may be extinct from Kura (Berg 1949). It was claimed that the (Kessler, 1870) species was extinct in Turkey (Fricke et al. 2007; Cicek and Sungur Birecikligil 2016). However, the species has never been reported in Turkey. 7 Chelon saliens (Risso, | The species has never been reported in the upper Kura and Aras drainages until an erroneous record by Fricke et al. 1810) (2007). The record was not supported by the following researchers (Cicek et al. 2015; Cigek and Sungur Birecikligil 2016). 8 Gambusia holbrooki _|Erroneously reported to be in the upper Aras drainages based on the following literature “Kuru 2004, Fricke et al. 2007; Girard, 1859 Cicgek et al. 2015”. However, none of these studies had directly reported this species in the area. 9 Luciobarbus caspius |The species erroneously reported in the upper Aras drainage by Fricke et al. (2007), followed by Cicek et al. (2015) and Berg, 1914 Cicgek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016). The species has not been documented by the observed material. 10 Luciobarbus Fricke et al. (2007) verified the presence of the species from Hasankale Stream (Erzurum Province) based on museum brachycephalus material. However, this claim has not been supported by the following researchers (Cicek et al. 2015; Cigek and Sungur (Kessler, 1872) Birecikligil 2016). The species reported from the lower Aras river (Coad 2020). Even though we have a sampling site close to Hasankale, we did not observe the species in the area. Moreover, a third Luciobarbus species, except L. capito and L. mursa, was not found in the upper Aras drainages. Perhaps, the museum material presented by Fricke et al. (2007) was mislabelled or misidentified. We omitted it from the fishes of upper Kura and Aras drainages until the species has been documented by the observed material. 11 Neogobius These three gobiid species had never been reported in the upper Kura and Aras drainages until they were erroneously melanostomus recorded by Fricke et al. (2007). These records were not supported by the following researchers (Cicek et al. 2015; (Pallas, 1814) Cigek and Sungur Birecikligil 2016). We omitted them from the fishes of upper Kura and Aras drainages until the 12 Neogobius syrman species have been documented by the observed material. (Pallas, 1814) 13 Ponticola ratan (Pallas, 1814) 14 Proterorhinus The species reported from lower reaches of Aras, near Baku (Kessler 1877; Derzhavin 1934; Berg 1949). Erroneously marmoratus (Pallas, |reported in the upper Aras drainages by Fricke et al. (2007). They also claimed the species was extinct in the Caspian 1814) Sea watersheds. 15 Romanogobio persus_ |The type locality of this species from Gader Chai, Lake Urmia basin. The specimens collected from Horasan (Erzurum) (Gunther, 1899) were identified as R. persus (Kuru, 1975). This record was followed by Kuru (2004) and, Fricke et al. (2007). However, Cicek et al. (2015) and Ci¢gek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016), claimed that maybe the species was misidentified. We omitted the species from the fishes of upper Kura and Aras drainages for now. See remarks of R. macropterus for details about the taxonomy of Romanogobio populations in the area. 16 Rutilus kutum The species recorded from Turkey as Rutilus frisii caspius Kuru (2004), later synonymised with R. kutum (Bogutskaya and (Kamensky, 1901) lliadou 2006). This record was followed by Fricke et al. (2007). However, the occurrence of the species has never been documented by the observed material. Recently, Kuljanishvili et al. (2020) treated R. kutum as a junior synonym of PR. frisii. 17 Sabanejewia caspia |The species reported in the upper Kura and Aras drainages by Fricke et al. (2007), probably instead of S. aurata which (Eichwald, 1838) had already been known in the area. This report followed by Cicek et al. (2015) and Cicgek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016). The species is distributed in the southern Caspian Sea basin (Anzali wetland, Sefid River and Amirkolayeh Wetland) (Sayyadzadeh et al. 2018) 18 Sander lucioperca It was reported that the species spawned in the lower and middle Kura River (Berg 1949). Cicek and Sungur Birecikligil (Linnaeus, 1758) (2016) erroneously reported it in the upper Aras drainages based on the following literature “Kuru 2004, Fricke et al. 2007; Cicek et al. 2015”. However, none of these studies had reported this species in the area. 19 Squalius orientalis The species was erroneously reported in the upper Aras drainages by Cicek et al. (2015) and Cicek and Sungur Heckel, 1847 Birecikligil (2016). The type locality of the species is Abkhazia, Black Sea basin. S. turcicus and S. agdamicus are inhabiting Kura and Aras drainages (Baycelebi 2019). 20 Stenodus leucichthys |The species was erroneously reported to be in the upper Aras drainage by Fricke et al. (2007), followed by Cicek et al. Abdurakhmanoyv, (2015) and Ci¢ek and Sungur Birecikligil (2016). Poursaeid and Falahatkar (2012) discussed the distribution of the 1950 species in the Caspian Sea basin, however, they did not mention the occurrence of the species in the upper Kura and Aras rivers. Examined material. FFR 1812, Kura River at Yalnizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 1815, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. —FFR 1606, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 1608, Stream Dogruyol at Dogruyol, Aras drainage, 41.0620N, 43.3450E. —FFR 1819, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. zse.pensoft.net Not preserved, Stream Fehmiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. —FFR 1603, Steam Su- suz at Susuz, Aras drainage, 40.7806N, 43.1411E. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR 1607, Stream Maksutcuk west of Dikme, Aras drainage, 40.5160N, 42.9510E. —FFR 1604, Stream Keke¢ at Selim, Aras Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 329 A AAO YS es 58 wy +: PASSER RY OA MAI OOK rT £ A ss hy by 4 i 2 ROG SE 80.3.9 0.2.50 bata. “stitee ss Sete J > BAY¥ é Figure 2. Native Cyprinid species collected in the area, a, Barbus cyri from Kura River at Yalnizcam; b, Capoeta capoeta from stream Kars, Aras; ¢, Capoeta kaput from B-20 canal, Aras; d, Luciobarbus capito from stream Gaziler, Aras; e, Luciobarbus mursa from stream Gaziler, Aras. zse.pensoft.net 330 drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 1814, Stream Boyali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. —FFR 1800, Stream Kizilcubuk at Kuizilcubuk, Aras drainage, 40.3736N, 42.5366E. —FFR 1945, Aras River at Kopriicay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. —FFR 1821, Stream Digor at Digor, Aras drainage, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. Not preserved, Aras River 4 km west of Donandi, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Not preserved, Lake Balik at Tanyolu, Aras drainage, 39.7451N, 43.5385E. —FFR 1816, Stream Sarisu West of DoSubeyazit, Aras drainage, 39.5409N, 44 0044E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in tributaries of Kura and Aras rivers. Capoeta kaput Levin, Prokofiev & Roubenyan, 2019 Fig. 2c Common / local names. Blue Aras scraper* / Mavi Aras sirazi*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. FFR 1835, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. Capoeta kaput was found only in B-20 canal. The species was described from Aras River in Armenia (Levin et al. 2019). Recently, it has been re- corded from Aras River in Turkey (Kaya 2019). Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782) Fig. 3a Common / local names. Prussian carp / Havuz balig1. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. Not preserved, Kura River at Yal- nizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. -—FFR 2217, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. —FFR 2216, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donand1, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Distribution in the area. The species was found in Lake Cildir and streams Gaziler and Yalnizcam. It was also re- ported from Lake Aktas and Stream Sarisu (Cicek and Sungur Birecikligil 2016). Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 Fig. 3b Common / local names. Common carp / Sazan. IUCN status. Vulnerable (VU). zse.pensoft.net Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers Examined material. FFR 2749, Lake Cildir, Aras drain- age, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. -FFR 2751, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donandi, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Not preserved, Lake Balik at Tanyolu, Aras drainage, 39.7451N, 43.5385E. —FFR 2744, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. The species was found in stream Gaziler, B-20 canal and Lake Cildir. Note. Both native and introduced Cyprinus carpio inhabit Lake Cildir. The native common carp is very distinct due to its slenderer body and yellow general body color (Fig. 3b). When compared to the introduced one, the native C. caripo 1s very popular and economically valuable among the local people in the area. Luciobarbus capito (Gildenstadt, 1773) Fig. 2d Common / local names. Bulatmai barbel / Hazar tilkibu- runu®*. IUCN status. Vulnerable (VU). Examined material. FFR 355, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donand1, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Distribution in the area. The species was found only in stream Gaziler. Luciobarbus mursa (Giildenstaedt, 1773) Fig. 2e Common / local names. Mursa / Murzu. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 334, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donand1, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Distribution in the area. The species was found only in stream Gaziler. Family Acheilognathidae Bleeker, 1863 Rhodeus amarus (Bloch, 1782) Fig. 3c Common / local names. European bitterling / Acibalik. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 3524, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 Wah, " Ay x nee rs: ¥ eran < ’ IP MA (i Figure 3. Acheilognathidae, Siluridae and two Cyprinid species collected in the area, a, Carassius gibelio from Kura River at Yal- nizgam; b, Cyprinus carpio from Lake Cildir, Aras; ¢, Rhodeus amarus from B-20 canal, Aras; d, Si/urus glanis from stream Kars, Aras. zse.pensoft.net 332 Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers Distribution in the area. The species is recorded in B-20 canal located very close to the border with Armenia. Rho- deus amarus was recorded from Lake Urmia and Casp1- an Sea basins in Iran (Derzhavin 1934; Holcik and Olah 1992: Kiabi et al. 1999; Abbasi et al. 1999; Abdoli, 2000; Ghasemi et al. 2015; Coad 2018). Probably it also occurs in Aras River in Armenia (Pipoyan, 1996). Family Gobionidae Bleeker, 1863 Gobio artvinicus Turan, Japoshvili, Aksu & Bektas, 2016 Fig. 4d Common / local names. Artvin gudgeon* / Artvin Der- ekayasi*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. FFR 5923, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. The species has been known to occur in Coruh River and has not been recorded in any another place, including Kura and Aras river drain- ages, despite intensive field work. However, it has re- cently been declared that G. artvinicus translocated to the Caspian Sea basin and occurs in Armenia, Azer- baijan and Georgia (Kuljanishvili et al. 2020). In the present study also, some specimens belonging to genus Gobio were observed and they are superficially similar to G. artvinicus. Pseudorasbora parva (Temminck & Schlegel, 1842) Fig. 4c Common / local names. Stone moroko / Cakil bal1&1. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. Not preserved, Lake Aktas at Ke- narbel, Kura drainage, 41.1917N, 43.1737E. Distribution in the area. The species was recorded only from Lake Aktas. It was also recorded in Lake Cildir (Cicek and Sungur Birecikligil 2016). Romanogobio macropterus (Kamensky, 1901) Fig. 4d Common / local names. Kura gudgeon / Kura Der- ekayas1*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). zse.pensoft.net Examined material. FFR 5977, Kura River at Yalnizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 5922, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas Uni- versity, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —-FFR 5969, Aras River at Kopriicay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. Distribution in the area. Kura and Aras River drainages in northeastern Turkey. Remarks. The type locality of the species is the Cauca- sus. The Kura population was identified as R. macropterus. However, we observed some morphological differences between Kura and Aras populations obtained in this study. The Aras population has a slenderer body and caudal pe- duncle than R. macropterus from Kura (Fig. 4d, 4e). There- fore, we encourage detailed morphologic and molecular research including the Kura, Aras and Urmia populations to clarify the taxonomic position of the Aras population. Family Leuciscidae Bonaparte, 1835 Acanthobrama microlepis (De Filippi, 1863) Fig. 5a Common / local names. Blackbrow bream / Kura akcapagi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 1172, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 1167, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 1170, Stream Dogruyol at Dogruyol, Aras drainage, 41.0620N, 43.3450E. —FFR 1196, Aras River at Kopriicay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. Not preserved, Aras River 4 km west of Donandi, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. —FFR 1165, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donandi, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Distribution in the area. Kura and Aras River drainages in northeastern Turkey. Note. Both molecular (Perea et al. 2010) and morphologic (Kuctk et al. 2014) studies suggested the synonymization of the genus Acanthalburnus with Acanthobrama. There- fore, this species is now under the genus Acanthobrama. Alburnoides eichwaldii De Filippi, 1863 Fig. 6a Common / local names. Kura spirlin* / Kura noktal1 in- cisi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 323 Figure 4. Gobiidae and Gobionidae species collected in the area, a, Neogobius fluviatilis from B-20 canal, Aras; b, Ponticola cyrius from Kura River at Yalnizgam; c, Pseudorasbora parva from Lake Aktas, Kura; d, Romanogobio macropterus from Kura River at Yalnizgam; e, Romanogobio macropterus from Kura River at Yalnizcam. zse.pensoft.net 334 Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers gee Figure 5. Some Leuciscidae species collected in the area, a, Acanthobrama microlepis from Kura River at Yalnizcam; b, Blicca bjoerkna from B-20 canal, Aras; c, Leuciscus aspius from Lake Cildir, Aras; d, Squalius agdamicus from Kura River at Yalnizcam; e, Squalius turcicus, from stream Fehmiharabesi, Aras. zse.pensoft.net Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 335 soe + ee J (aS Sem ><, he y a qty ts Siar hs . a = >! “ Figure 6. Some Leuciscidae species collected in the area, a, A/burnoides eichwaldii from Kura River at Yalnizcam; b, A/burnus filippi from Kura River at Yalnizgam; ¢, Alburnus hohenackeri from B-20 canal, Aras; d, Chondrostoma cyri from stream Kars, Aras; e, Leucalburnus satunini from Kura River at Yalnizcam. zse.pensoft.net 336 Examined material. FFR 1013, Stream Karaman at Asikztilal, Kura drainage, 41.4413N, 42.6591E. Not preserved, Stream Cot Suyu South of Catkoy, Kura drainage, 41.2998N, 42.7087E. —FFR 1089, Kura Riv- er at Yalnizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 1091, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drain- age, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 1047, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 1085, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. Not preserved, Stream Fehmiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. —FFR 1015, Stream Maksutcuk west of Dikme, Aras drainage, 40.5160N, 42.9510E. -FFR 1019, Steam Susuz at Susuz, Aras drain- age, 40.7806N, 43.1411E. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR 1088, Stream Keke¢ at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 1086, Stream Boy- ali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. —FFR 1082, Stream Kizilcubuk at Kizilcubuk, Aras drainage, 40.3736N, 42.5366E. —-FFR 7012, Aras River at Koprticay, 39. 9699N, 41.8883E. —FFR 1093, Stream Digor at Dig- or, Aras drainage, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. -FFR 7020, Aras River 4 km west of Donand1, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. -FFR 1087, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donand1, Aras drain- age, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. —FFR 7011, Stream Aktarla at Aktarla, a southern drainage of Lake Balik, 39.7373N, 43.5815E. -FFR 1090, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drain- age, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in tributaries of Kura-Aras rivers. Alburnus filippii Kessler, 1877 Fig. 6b Common / local names. Kura bleak / Kura incisi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 4687, Kura River at Yal- nizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 942, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 943, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 936, Lake Cuildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. —FFR 4688, Stream Buytk Cayir at Arpacay, Aras drainage, 40.8431N, 43.3222E. —FFR 4685, Stream Fehmiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. —FFR 872, Steam Susuz at Susuz, Aras drainage, 40.7806N, 43.1411E. — FFR 4686, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR, 899, Stream Maksutcuk west of Dikme, Aras drainage, 40.5160N, 42.9510E. —FFR 940, Stream Kekec at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 939, Stream Boy- ali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. -FFR 4654, Aras River at Kopriigay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. — FFR 948, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donandi, Aras zse.pensoft.net Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. —FFR 947, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. —FFR 820, Stream Dogruyol at Dogruyol, Aras drainage, 41.0620N, 43.3450E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in tributaries of Kura-Aras rivers. Alburnus hohenackeri Kessler, 1877 Fig. 6c Common / local names. Caspian bleak / Hazar Denizi incisi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 4699, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. It was recorded from B-20 ca- nal, Aras River. Note. The occurrence of the species in the region has been reported by earlier studies based on estimates (Fric- ke et al. 2007; Cicgek et al. 2015). A. hohenackeri was documented with the materials observed for the first time in the B-20 canal, Turkey. We observed two syntopic shemeya from the B-20 canal. Alburnus hohenackeri is easily distinguished from A. flippii by having a stout and deep body as well as large scales (Fig. 6b, c). Blicca bjoerkna (Linnaeus, 1758) Fig. 5b Common / local names. White bream / Tahta bal11. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2425, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. It was first recorded from B-20 canal, Aras River. Chondrostoma cyri Kessler, 1877 Fig. 6d Common / local names. Colchic nase / Kura kababu- runu®*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2040, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 2041, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 —FFR 2030, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR 2042, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in tributaries of Kura-Aras rivers. Leucalburnus satunini (Berg, 1910) Fig. 6e Common / local names. White Kura bleak / Satunin incisi. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2467, Kura River at Yal- nizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 2464, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42. 5861E. -FFR 2465, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. Distribution in the area. Known from upper Kura River drainage. Endemic to the area. Leuciscus aspius (Linnaeus, 1758) Fig. 5c Common / local names. Asp / Kocaa®1z bal1g1. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2441, Lake Cildir, Aras drain- age, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. Distribution in the area. Aras River drainage. Recorded from in Lake Cildir. Squalius agdamicus Kamensky, 1901 Fig. 5d Common / local names. Agdam dace / Agdam tatlisu kefali*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. FFR 638, Stream Acikyazi at Ka- zlikoy, Kura drainage, 41.1443N, 42.5908E. —FFR 687, Kura River at Yalnizcam, 41.0709N, 42.4844E. —FFR 684, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drain- age, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. -FFR 684, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. Distribution in the area. Kura River drainage in north- east Anatolia. The species has been known from lower Kura. Recently, it was recorded from Kura River in Tur- key (Bay¢elebi 2019). 337 Squalius turcicus De Filippi, 1865 Fig. 5e Common / local names. Kura chub* / Kura tatli su kefali*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 692, Lake Cildir, Aras drain- age, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. Not preserved, Stream Fehmi- harabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas Uni- versity, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR 681, Stream Keke¢ at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 689, Stream Boyali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. —FFR 634, Stream Kars at Catak, Aras drainage, 40.4016N, 42.6783E. —FFR 6273, Aras River at Koprticay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. —FFR 690, Stream Digor at Digor, Aras drainage, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. not preserved, Lake Balik at Tanyolu, Aras drainage, 39.7451N, 43.5385E. -FFR 683, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. Widespread in Aras River drainage. Family Cobitidae Swainson, 1838 Cobitis saniae Eagderi, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Jalili, Sayyadzadeh & Esmaeili, 2017 Fig. 7e Common / local names. Caspian spined loach* / Hazar tasemeni*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —FFR 5500, Stream Kekeg¢ at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 5549, Aras River at Koprticay, 39.9699N, 41.8883E. Distribution in the area. Recently recorded from streams Selim and Kars, Aras River drainage (Freyhof et al. 2018). Sabanejewia aurata (De Filippi, 1863) Fig. 7d Common / local names. Golden Spined Loach / Altin dikenli cop¢u bali g1*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 5514, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. —FFR zse.pensoft.net ie fele: Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers Figure 7. Nemacheilidae and Cobitidae species collected in the area, a, Oxynoemacheilus brandtii from Kura River at Yalnizg¢am; b, O. cyri from stream Cakir, Kura; ¢, O. veyselorum from stream Kars, Aras; d, Sabanejewia aurata from stream Kars, Aras; e, Cobitis saniae from Aras River at Kopriicay. zse.pensoft.net Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 5513, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. —FFR 5559, Stream Fehmiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. Distribution in the area. The species is known from Aras River drainage. Family Nemacheilidae Regan, 1911 Oxynoemacheilus brandtii (Kessler, 1877) Fig. 7a Common / local names. Kura loach* / Aras cop¢ti baligi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 1460, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42.8560E. -FFR 15551, Stream Btiytk Cayir at Arpacay, Aras drainage, 40.8431N, 43.3222E. -FFR 15549, Stream Fehmuiharabesi at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. —FFR 1350, Stream Kekeg at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 1382, Stream Maksutcuk west of Dikme, Aras drainage, 40.5160N, 42.9510E. -FFR 1427, Stream Digor at Digor, Aras drain- age, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. -FFR 1422, Stream Gaziler, 2 km west of Donandi, Aras drainage, 40.1097N, 43.4349E. Distribution in the area. The species is widespread in Kura and Aras river drainages. Oxynoemacheilus cyri (Berg, 1910) Fig. 7b Common / local names. Gole loach / Géle cop¢u baligi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 1426, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. Distribution in the area. The species is endemic to the upper reaches of the Kura River drainage. Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum Cicek, Eagderi & Sungur, 2018 Fig. 7c Common / local names. Aras loach* / Aras ¢opcuti baligi*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. FFR 3621, Stream Doégruyol at Dogruyol, Aras drainage, 41.0620N, 43.3450E. —FFR 15550, Stream Buytik Cayir at Arpacay, Aras drainage, 40.843 1N, 43.3222E. -FFR 15548, Stream Fehmiharabes1 339 at Akcalar, Aras drainage, 40.7723N, 43.2959E. Not pre- served, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. —-FFR 1352, Stream Kekec¢ at Selim, Aras drainage, 40.4715N, 42.8005E. —FFR 3622, Stream Boyali at Boyali, Aras drainage, 40.4478N, 42.5833E. -FFR 3623, Stream Kizilcubuk at Kizilcubuk, Aras drainage, 40.3736N, 42.5366E. —FFR 1597, Stream Digor at Digor, Aras drainage, 40.3731N, 43.4271E. Distribution in the area. Aras River drainages in north- eastern Anatolia. The species recently described from stream Bozkus (40°37'03.7"N, 42°47'04.9"E), a drainage of Aras River (Cicek et al. 2018). Here it was record- ed from eight additional localities (streams Doégruyol, Keke¢, Kars, Fehmiharabesi, Boyali, Digor, Kizilcubuk and Biytk Cayir) in tributaries of Aras River (Table 1). Notes on nomenclature. Cicek et al. (2018) described Oxynoemacheilus veyseli in honor of Veysel Cicek. The epithet stands for two persons as father and son of the first author. In Article 31.1.2. of the International Code for Zo- ological Nomenclature (ICZN 1999), it is clearly indicat- ed that: “A species-group name, if a noun in the genitive case (see Article 11.9.1.3) formed directly from a modern personal name, is to be formed by adding to the stem of that name -1 if the personal name 1s that of a man, -orum if of men or of man (men) and woman (women) together, -ae if of a woman, and -arum if of women; the stem of such a name is determined by the action of the original author when forming the genitive.” Therefore, the name of the species is treated here as Oxynoemacheilus veyselorum. Family Siluridae Rafinesque, 1815 Silurus glanis Linnaeus, 1758 Fig. 3d Common / local names. Wels catfish / Yayin. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. Not preserved, Stream Kars at campus of Kafkas University, Aras drainage, 40.5814N, 43.0591E. -FFR 2704, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drain- age, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. The species is found from the stream Kars in this study. Family Salmonidae Jarocki or Schinz, 1822 Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) Fig. 8a Common / local names. Rainbow trout / Gokkusa&i al- abali&1. zse.pensoft.net 340 Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. Not preserved, Lake Cildir, Aras drainage, 41.0449N, 43.2804E. Distribution in the area. The species was recorded from Lake Cildir. Salmo caspius Kessler, 1877 Fig. 8b Common / local names. Caspian trout / Hazar alasi*. IUCN status. Not evaluated (NE). Examined material. Not preserved, Stream Cot Suyu South of Catkoy, Kura drainage, 41.2998N, 42.7087E. — FFR 1129, Stream Kinavur at Cataldere, Kura drainage, 41.1976N, 42.6135E. —FFR 3164, Stream Toros, 4 km south of Cimenkaya, Kura drainage, 41.1115N, 42.4468E. —FFR 3135, Stream Cakir, 3 km south of Cakildere, Kura drainage, 40.9669N, 42.5861E. Distribution in the area. Kura River drainage. Salmo aff. caspius Kessler, 1877 Fig. 8c Common / local names. Aras trout / Aras alasi*. Examined material. FFR 3122, Stream Tahtakaya at Kirkpinar, Aras drainage, 40.8539N, 43.0188E. — FFR 3114, Stream Kayalik at Kayalik, Aras drainage, 40.8201N, 43.1268E. -FFR 3144, Stream Incilipinar at Incilipmar, Aras drainage, 40.8211N, 43.0751E. Distribution in the area. Aras River drainage. Remarks. The species is morphologically most similar to S. caspius. However, it seems that there are some significant differences between Kura and Aras popula- tions. A detailed morphological examination is needed to clear the taxonomic position of salmonids in Aras drainage. Salmo cf. ciscaucasicus Dorofeeva, 1967 Fig. 8d Common / local names. Caucasian trout* / Kafkas alasi*. Examined material. FFR 3229, Stream Keklik 6 km southeast of Sarikamis, Aras drainage, 40.2955N, 42.6565E. Distribution in the area. Aras River drainage. zse.pensoft.net Remarks. The species is morphologically similar to S. ciscaucasicus, however, more comparison materials from upper Aras and Keyranchay River (its type locality) are needed to clear the taxonomic position of Aras populations. For the first observation by limited samples identified here as Salmo cf. ciscaucasicus differ from S. caspius from Kura drainages by having a brownish general body color (vs. grayish), irregular black and red spots (vs. circular). On the other hand, the samples we obtained have grayish general body color, numerous black spots on the body, irregularly shaped, small to medium, maxilla reaching slightly beyond the eye, adipose-fin of moderate size, not reaching caudal-fin base. These features overlap with the original description of Dorofeyeva (1967) and the figure and description of Kottelat & Freyhof (2007). Therefore, we consider that species closely related to S. ciscaucasicus, and we encourage further research to clarify the trout taxonomy in the area. Family Gobiidae Cuvier, 1816 Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) Fig. 4a Common / local names. Monkey goby / Tatlisu kayas1. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2636, B-20 canal at Aralik, Aras drainage, 39.8936N, 44.5256E. Distribution in the area. The species native for the Cas- pian Sea basin (Pinchuk et al. 2003). The species was re- corded from B-20 canal. It is the first record for the Turk- ish Aras River. Ponticola cyrius (Kessler, 1874) Fig. 4b Common / local names. Kura goby / Kura kayasi*. IUCN status. Least concern (LC). Examined material. FFR 2620, Stream Karaman at Asikzilal, Kura drainage, 41.4413N, 42.6591E. —FFR 2635, Stream Olcek at Olcek, Kura drainage, 41.1340N, 42. 8560E. Distribution in the area. Kura River drainage. Remarks Among the species listed above, 26 are native and two of them (Oxynoemacheilus cyri and Leucalburnus satunini) are also endemic to the upper Kura River. L. satunini was Zoosyst. Evol. 96 (2) 2020, 325-344 341 “sk etal a Mee Pra Figure 8. Salmonid species collected in the area, a, Oncorhynchus mykiss from Lake Cildir, Aras; b, Salmo caspius from stream Cataldere, Kura; ¢, Salmo aff. caspius from stream Incilipinar, Aras; d, Salmo cf. ciscaucasicus from stream Keklik, Aras. not included endemic fish species of Turkey by Cicek et species are restricted to the Turkish part of Kura River, al. (2018). However, the species has never been reported the population density detected was high. Probably, this from Armenia or adjacent countries. Even though these — was due to the limited human population in nearby rural zse.pensoft.net 342 Kaya, C. et al.: Taxonomic assessment of fishes in upper Kura and Aras rivers areas, hence the negative effect of anthropogenic pol- lutants. In addition, hydro power plants could not be in- stalled in the area since the geographical structure of the region is a flat plateau. Both species are already assessed as “Least concern” by IUCN. Carassius gibelio, Cyprinus carpio, Pseudorasbora parva, Gobio artvinicus and Oncorhynchus mykiss are exotic species of upper Kura and Aras drainages. Even though P. parva and C. gibelio are not very widespread throughout the area, they have high invasiveness poten- tial. Therefore, caution is necessary to prevent the spread of these species. Discussion Fricke et al. (2007) claimed that Caspiomyzon wagneri (Kessler, 1870), Acipenser persicus Borodin, 1897, Alosa braschnikovi (Borodin, 1904), Alosa caspia (Eichwald, 1838), Rutilus kutum (Kamensky, 1901), Stenodus leu- cichthys (Guldenstadt, 1772), Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814), Neogobius ratan (Pallas, 1814), Neogobi- us syrman (Pallas, 1814) and Proterorhinus marmoratus (Pallas, 1814) are extinct in the Caspian Sea watersheds of Turkey. However, these species had never been docu- mented by field observations and collected specimens in Turkish Kura and Aras river drainages (See Table 2 for details). Furthermore, several incorrect records and mis- identifications were identified (Table 2). Alburnus hohenackeri, Blicca bjoerkna, Gobio artvin- icus, Neogobius fluviatilis and Rhodeus amarus were re- corded for the first time in the upper reaches of Aras River in Turkey by the observed samples. Turan et al. (2012, 2014a, 2014b, 2017, 2020) showed that there is a high diversity within Salmonids in Anato- lia. The presence of five trout species in Turkish Medi- terranean tributaries and four species in Euphrates River drainages encouraged us to compare the trout population of Kura-Aras River systems in detail. Also based on a limited number of specimens, our study evidenced that Kura populations belong to Salmo caspius, but popula- tions from Aras drainage need further study. We are con- sidering the occurrence of S. ciscaucasicus and an un- named trout species in upper Aras drainages. Therefore, we encourage a detailed study on trout taxonomy in the upper Aras drainages. Introduced salmonid, Coregenus albula, was record- ed in Lake Aktas, which is a transboundary lake shared between Turkey and Georgia (Yerli 2019). During our single survey in July 2017 in the Lake Aktas, we were not able to find this species. Perhaps this species was 1n- troduced to the lake after the present survey. There are two species categorized under the red list of IUCN; both were assessed as Vulnerable. The first is native populations of Cyprinus carpio, which were ob- served only in Lake Cildir in the area. The population density of the species is declining due to overfishing and destruction of breeding and feeding areas (Zengin et al. zse.pensoft.net 2012). Besides, invasive Pseudorasbora parva and Car- assius gibelio, and introduced Cyprinus carpio inhabit Lake Cildir and compete with the native C. carpio popu- lations for food and habitat. The second species is Lucio- barbus capito, which was found only in stream Gaziler in the present study. However, Cicek and Sungur Bireciklig- il (2016) recorded the species in five sampling sites. We observed only 4 samples in stream Gaziler despite our intense efforts. This suggests that L. capito population is drastically declining due to damming in the 1950’s and 1960’s in the Caspian Sea. L. capito decline is continuing, especially for mature individuals (Freyhof and Kottelat 2008). Because of its big size, overfishing 1s also a major threat for L. capito. There are nine species not evaluated against IUCN criteria. Among these: Capoeta kaput, C. saniae and Ox- ynoemacheilus veyselorum, were described after 2017; therefore they have not yet been assessed by IUCN. C. kaput was found only from B-20 canal in this study, and from two localities by (Levin et al. 2019). C. saniae was described from two localities by Eagderi et al. (2017), which were covered by the present study and resulted in the capture of only a few specimens. O. veyselorum was described from a single locality by Ci¢gek (2018), how- ever, in this study, it was recorded from eight additional sampling sites, with multiple individuals. The situation with respect to C. kaput and C. saniae, in particular, would appear to be critical. Therefore, we encourage researchers to study the conservation status of these species. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Mehmet Kuyumcu (Rize) and Seyda Alinca ([&dir) for their help during the field- work. Many thanks to Jorg Freyhof (Berlin) and Baran Yogurtcuoglu (Ankara) for their remarkable comments on the earlier version of this manuscript, and Lucas Nolan (Dublin) for improving its language. Fish collections were approved and granted by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, General D1- rectorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture (codes for the pro- tocols: 67852565-140.03.03-E.4052273 and 76000869- 804.01-00000919222). 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