Anatolichthys Kosswig & Sözer, 1945

Freyhof, Jörg & Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, 2020, A proposal for a new generic structure of the killifish family Aphaniidae, with the description of Aphaniops teimorii (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes), Zootaxa 4810 (3), pp. 421-451 : 425-427

Anatolichthys Kosswig & Sözer, 1945

Figs. 2–3

Type species. Anatolichthys splendens Kosswig & Sözer 1945 .

Anatolichthys transgrediens is the type species of Turkichthys Ermin, 1946 , which is a synonym of Anatolichthys ( Wildekamp

1993).

Diagnosis. Anatolichthys is distinguished from Kosswigichthys by possessing a single (vs. three) row of tricuspid (vs. conical) teeth and presence (vs. absence) of black or dark-brown bars in the caudal fin of the male. It is distinguished from the remaining genera in the family Aphaniidae by a combination of characters, none unique to the genus. Head canals absent (vs. present in Aphanius and Aphaniops ); a dermal sheath at the anal-fin base in nuptial female present (vs. absent in Aphaniops ); pelvic fin present (vs. absent in Tellia ); black or dark-brown bars in the caudal fin of male present (vs. absent in Paraphanius); flank pattern in male comprising a series of black or brown bars (vs. small whitish or blue vertically-arranged spots or very narrow bars in Paraphanius); a bold, black spot at centre of the caudal-fin base in female present (vs. absent in Paraphanius); dorsal- and anal-fin margins black in male (vs. without black margins in Aphaniops , except A. sirhani , yellow in Tellia , only dorsal-fin margin black in Aphanius ).

Included species. Anatolichthys anatoliae , A. danfordii , A. fontinalis , A. iconii , A. irregularis , A. maeandricus , A. marassantensis , A. meridionalis , A. saldae , A. splendens , A. sureyanus , A. transgrediens , A. villwocki .

Distribution. Anatolichthys is widely distributed in inland waters of central and southwestern Anatolia as well as the southern Black Sea basin, where it is found in the Sakarya, Kızılırmak and Yeşilırmak River drainages ( Fig. 4 , Yoğurtçuoğlu & Ekmekçi 2017). Southern records from the Levant are discussed below.

Remarks. Anatolichthys splendens , only known from Lake Gölcük, has not been found since the 1980s and is obviously extinct, following the stocking of the lake with alien fish species.

Our unpublished COI data agree with Hrbek et al. (2002) in the placement of Anatolichthys close to Kosswigichthys , and the sister-genus relationship of Aphanius to these genera. With 13 member species, Anatolichthys is the richest genus in the family Aphaniidae , and there is significant diversity in body shape plus colour and scale patterns. In particular, the absence or reduction of scales in pelagic lacustrine species ( A. transgrediens , A. saldae , A. splendens , and A. sureyanus ) has been studied extensively ( Ermin 1946, Grimm 1980, Villwock 1963), and they had been separated from Aphanius in the genera Anatolichthys and Turkichthys by earlier authors ( Kosswig & Sözer 1945, Ermin 1946). Hrbek et al. (2002) found these pelagic species Anatolichthys and Turkichthys to be nested within a group of species previously identified as Aphanius anatoliae and A. danfordii .

The most atypical Anatolichthys species is A. villwocki , which lacks the bold, black caudal-fin bars present in all congeners. This character state is shared with Esmaeilius sophiae , but Anatolichthys villwocki is clearly distinguished from all Esmaeilius species except E. isfahanensis by possessing a black (vs. white) dorsal-fin margin. Geiger et al. (2014) placed A. villwocki between A. danfordii , A. marassantensis and the other Anatolichthys species, whereas Hrbek et al. (2002) considered it as sister to A. meridionalis . The results of these studies suggest that the relatively high number of flank bars and the presence of rows of spots on the caudal-fin represent an apomorphic condition in A. villwocki , since it is not shared with A. danfordii , A. marassantensis or A. meridionalis . Due to its phylogenetic position within Anatolichthys , A. villwocki is not recognised as a distinct genus despite its higher number of flank bars and caudal-fin colour pattern.

Pellegrin (1911, 1923) published records of Cyprinodon sophiae from the region of Damascus in Syria, and Bodenheimer (1935) and Tortonese (1938) found similar fishes elsewhere in Syria and Jordan. Krupp (1985) and JF searched for these fishes at some of these locations in the Barada River in Syria, and Suwaima in Jordan, but were unable to find them. Figures by Krupp (1985), depicting individuals collected in the 19 th century from Damascus, suggest that they belong to Anatolichthys due to the presence of two black caudal-fin bars and a black dorsal fin with hyaline base in the male. It is clearly not a species of Esmaeilius , which is found in the adjacent lower Tigris. Krupp (1985) discussed whether this species might represent an introduced population of A. marassantensis but subsequently rejected this hypothesis.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Anatolichthys splendens, from the top: ZMH 3506, 38 mm SL; ZMH 3505, lectotype, 31 mm SL; Turkey: Lake Gölcük.

FIGURE 3. Left column from the top, females: Anatolichthys anatoliae, FSJF 2485, 43 mm SL, Turkey: Lake Meyil; A. irregularis, FFR 08654, female, paratype, 52 mm SL, Turkey: Kaklık; A. villwocki, not preserved, same data as FSJF 2626, 35 mm SL, Turkey: Emirdağ; A. danfordii, FSJF 2601, 43 mm SL; Turkey: Soysallı; A. fontinalis, FSJF 3456, 32 mm SL, Yarışlı; right column from the top, males: Anatolichthys anatoliae, FSJF 2485, 40 mm SL, Turkey: Lake Meyil; A. irregularis, FFR 08653, male, holotype, 35 mm SL; Turkey: Kaklık; A. villwocki, not preserved, same data as FSJF 2626, 40 mm SL, Turkey: Emirdağ; A. danfordii, FSJF 2601, 38 mm SL; Turkey: Soysallı; A. fontinalis, FSJF 3456; 35 mm SL, Yarışlı.

FIGURE 4. Records of Anatolichthys and Kosswigichthys species.