Tristramella sacra (Gunther, 1865)

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 : 40-41

Tristramella sacra (G̡nther, 1865) [N]—Long jaw tristramella; Mesht addadi

Taxonomy. Original description: Hemichromis sacra Günther, 1865: 493 [Lake Tiberias [Galilée], Israel; lectotype: BMNH 1864.8.20.1].—Syrian synonyms: Chromis paterfamilias Lortet, 1876 .—Revisions: None.— Illustration: Krupp & Schneider (1989: 402, fig. 53).

Status in Syria. First record from Syria by Beckman (1962: 66); confirmed by Borkenhagen & Freyhof (2009: 335).—Syria material: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Yarmouk and Al-Kabir Al-Shamali rivers.—Distribution in River Basin: 3-Desert, 5-Barada & Awaj, 7-Al-Yarmouk.—General distribution: Lake Tiberias.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River, 440-Arabian Interior.—Habitat: This species was a lacustrine species. Reproduction occurred in spring (April-July): it was a paternal mouth brooder. The species fed on zooplankton and small fish. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: EX ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: Unknown.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Extinct.—High priority for conservation action.

Remarks. The IUCN category of T. sacra is extinct based on Goren’s (2014) assessment. Nonetheless, it was reported that this species is still found in Syria. This situation needs to be clarified by field studies and detailed molecular analyses.