Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia Author Freyhof, Jörg Author Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran Author Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash Author Kaya, Cüneyt text 2025 2025-11-12 De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin / Boston https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111677811 book 10.1515/9783111677811 07a1dfff-66a6-4eed-9b7e-3baa5ad08820 978-3-11-167781-1 17881367 Schistura Schistura is a highly polyphyletic genus that encompasses approximately 250 species. The type species of Schistura is S. rupecula , found in northern India . The genus is thought to be widely distributed and speciose in the southern Himalayas, extending from Pakistan to China . Loaches identified as Schistura are widespread in India and Sri Lanka and occur all over tropical Asia and Indonesia . They are especially speciose in Indochina. Most loaches placed in Schistura will be recognised in different genera in the future, and the genus needs a fundamental revision. In West Asia, several loaches had been described in Schistura , including S. ceyhanensis , S. chrysicristinae , S. evreni , and S. seyhanicola , all from Türkiye . Except for S. chrysicristinae , these were later placed in Oxynoemacheilus . Schistura chrysicristinae was placed in Paraschistura based on the characters provided in its original description. Upon rediscovery in 2021, mitochondrial DNA data indicated a close relationship between S. chrysicristinae and S. rupecula . Consequently, S. chrysicristinae was reclassified within the genus Schistura . Schistura chrysicristinae is found approximately 3,000 km northeast of the genus’s known range.