Garra rufa ( 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 : 11

Garra rufa ( Heckel, 1843) [N]—Red garra

Taxonomy. Original description: Discognathus rufus Heckel, 1843: 1071 [81] [ Aleppo, Syria; lectotype: NMW 53240 ( 108 mm SL)].— Iraq synonyms: Discognathus obtusus Heckel, 1843 ; Discognathus crenulatus Heckel, 1847 .—Revisions: Sayyadzadeh et al. (2015); Esmaeili et al. (2016 a).—Illustration: Heckel (1843: pl. 8 (fig. 2)) as Discognathus rufus ; Esmaeili et al. (2016 a: 108, fig. 23); Esmaeili et al. (2016 a: 109, fig. 24) as Discognathus crenulatus ).

Status in Iraq. First record from Iraq by Heckel (1843).—Iraq materials: NMW.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Euphrates and Tigris river basins.—General distribution: Middle East: Euphrates and Tigris river basins ( Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran).—Habitat: This species inhabits a very wide range of flowing water habitats, from fast-flowing headwaters and reservoirs to polluted canals and large lowland rivers. Usually absent from standing waters. Freshwater.

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

Conservation. Conservation Status in Iraq: Unknown.—IUCN: LC (IUCN 2023).—Threats: There are many threats in the area, but none is serious enough to have a significant impact on this species.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.—Low priority for conservation action.