Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi

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Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi
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Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi

Systematics
without rank: Otophysa
Order : Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination : Carp fish-like (Cyprinoidei)
Family : Carp fish (Cyprinidae)
Genre : Mesopotamichthys
Type : Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi
Scientific name of the  genus
Mesopotamichthys
Karaman , 1971
Scientific name of the  species
Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi
( Günther , 1874)

Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi is a species of fish from the carp family (Cyprinidae), which occurs in the Middle East in the Euphrates and Tigris basins and the marshes in the mouth of the two rivers.

features

The fish can reach a maximum length of 55 cm and a maximum weight of 4 kg, are slim and greenish, light brown or golden brown in color with a silvery or yellowish brown underside. The edge of the scales is thin and therefore appears lighter. The fins are reddish brown and darker than the body. The eyes are brownish-orange, silvery or shimmering gold. The peritoneum is black. Characteristic of Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi is the lack of barbels and relatively large scales. The last, unbranched dorsal fin ray is thin, not completely ossified, more flexible and unsawed. The mouth is slightly below; the lips are well developed but not fleshy. Females are usually slightly larger than males of the same age.

Way of life

Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi often undertakes migrations between the streams and marshes in the adjacent marshland. If it becomes too hot in the swamps and the water level becomes too shallow, the fish migrate back into the rivers or go to deeper areas of the swamps. The species is largely herbivorous . Young fish eat thread algae, as well as unicellular diatoms and Chlorophyceae , adult fish feed on detritus and higher plants, including spawning herbs , swimming ferns , pond roses and reeds . Copepods and mollusks are only picked up by chance when grazing on thread algae, diatoms and detritus. The fish multiply in the spring in lakes, swamps or in the lower reaches of rivers. When spawning, the females give off 10,000 to over 150,000 eggs. The yellow eggs are relatively large with a diameter of 1.7 to 2 mm. The fish can live to be 6 to 8 years old.

Systematics

The fish species was first scientifically described in 1874 by the German naturalist Albert Günther under the name Barbus sharpeyi . Terra typica is the Tigris near Baghdad . The Serbian biologist Madlen Stanko Karaman introduced the genus Mesopotamichthys for the species in 1971 , which has remained monotypical since then . Mesopotamichthys differs from Barbus mainly in the shape of the tear bone and the sensory system on this bone. Barbus faoensis , also described by Günther in 1896, with Faw as Terra typica, is a synonym description . Mesopotamichthys , along with four closely related species of Middle Eastern carp fish (including Arabibarbus and Carasobarbus ), belongs to the Labeobarbus clade within the subfamily Torinae , which comprises a total of 12 species of carp fish found in Africa and tropical Asia.

Danger

Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi is no longer found in most of the former distribution area. The reasons are overfishing and the destruction of the wetlands necessary for reproduction. There are still stocks in the marshland areas of Al-Huwazah in southern Iraq and Hawer Al-Azim in southwestern Iran, as well as in the Tabqa Dam in Syria. The fish species is therefore listed in the IUCN's Red List of Endangered Species as endangered ("vulnerable").

literature

  • Brian W. Coad. (2010). Freshwater Fishes of Iraq . Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow. 294 pp. ISBN 978-954-642-530-0 .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c Brian W. Coad (2016). Cyprinidae: Garra to Vimba . Freshwater Fishes of Iran. On-line
  2. ↑ Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi in the Catalog of Fishes (English)
  3. ↑ Mesopotamichthys in the Catalog of Fishes (English)
  4. ↑ Lei Yang, Tetsuya Sado, M. Vincent Hirt, Emmanuel Pasco-Viel, M. Arunachalam, Junbing Li, Xuzhen Wang, Jörg Freyhof , Kenji Saitoh, Andrew M. Simons, Masaki Miya, Shunping He, Richard L. Mayden (2015 ): Phylogeny and Polyploidy: Resolving the Classification of Cyprinine Fishes (Teleostei: Cypriniformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, February 2015, doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2015.01.014
  5. ↑ Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2014 Posted by: Freyhof, J., 2013. Accessed November 17 of 2019.

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