Squalius lepidus Heckel, 1843

Saad, Adib, Çiçek, Erdoğan, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil & Eagderi, Soheil, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5350 (1), pp. 1-62 : 32

Squalius lepidus Heckel, 1843 [N]—Mesopotamian pike chub; None

Taxonomy. Original description: Squalius lepidus Heckel, 1843a: 21 [24], pl. 9 [Tigris River, Mosul, Iraq; lectotype: NMW 49342 (spec. 1); lectotype selected by Bogutskaya (1994: 603)].—Syrian synonyms: Leuciscus lepidus (Heckel, 1843) .—Revisions: Sanjur et al. (2003: 22).—Illustration: Heckel (1843b: pl. 10, fig. 2).

Status in Syria. First record from Syria by Pellegrin (1911: 108); confirmed by Gruvel (1931); Beckman (1962: 130) as Leuciscus lepidus and Krupp & Schneider (1991b: 73); Saad et al. (2009) as Leuciscus lepidus .— Syrian material: BMNH, MNHN, MSL.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Orontes, Quwayq, Euphrates and Tigris River basins.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Dajleh & Khabour, 2-Euphrates & Aleppo.—General distribution: Asia Minor and Middle East: Asi Nehri (Orontes), Quwayq, Euphrates and Tigris River basins ( Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran).— Distribution in Ecoregion: 441-Lower Tigris & Euphrates, 442-Upper Tigris & Euphrates.—Habitat: This species lives in large to medium-sized rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Freshwater.

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

Conservation. Conservation status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: There are many threats in the area, non seem to be serious enough to strongly impact this species.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Stable.—Low priority for conservation action.