Aphanius vladykovi

Aphanius vladykovi (Zagros pupfish) is a species of old world pupfish endemic to a restricted area of the central Zagros Mountains of Iran. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. Its specific name honours the zoologist Vadim D. Vladykov (1898-1986) who studied the fishes of the Caspian basin and wo accepted the species author, Brian W. Coad, as a graduate student.[1]

Aphanius vladykovi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Cyprinodontidae
Genus: Aphanius
Species:
A. vladykovi
Binomial name
Aphanius vladykovi
Coad, 1988

Its name in Persian is ماهی پرچمی (mahi-e parchami) [flagfish] or ماهی گورخری زاگرس (mahi-e gour-e khari-e Zagros) which means Zagros zebrafish or ماهی کپور دندان دار زاگرس (Mahi-e kapoor-e dandan dare zagros) [Zagros tooth carp].[2] Little information on this species beyond the original description and some brief biological observations is available.

The main habitats of the fish are Choghakhor Lagoon, Gandoman Lagoon, Salm Lake, Shalamzar Lake and Beheshtabad River all in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province, Iran.[3][4][5] The native fish population is threatened by different factors including environmental pollution as well as biological threats such as parasites. The fish has been infected with a migratory parasite larva to the extent of 100 and 68 percent, respectively in 2011 and 2018.[3][4]

This species is a close relative of Aphanius sophiae, but characterised by a higher lateral line scale counts and by its color pattern: males have darker coloration on the dorsal fin and a lighter one on the anal fin. Females lack the typical, large, lozenge-shaped spot at the base of the caudal fin seen in A. sophiae.

The stomach content of this fish consists mostly of freshwater crustaceans and the relative length of the gut suggests a carnivorous habit. The eggs have an average diameter of 1 mm and the average absolute and relative fecundity is 415 and 110, respectively. The gonadosomatic ratio and ovary condition suggests that the reproductive season of the species is between late March and June with a peak in early April. The species is euryhaline and eurythermal and prefers neutral to basic waters. It is usually found in well-oxygenated waters, but is tolerant to hypoxia, as well.

References
  • Brian W. Coad (1988). "Aphanius vladykovi, a new species of tooth-carps from the Zagros Mountains of Iran (Osteichthyes: Cyprinodontidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 23 (1–2): 115–125. doi:10.1007/BF00000741. S2CID 19633581.
  • Brian W. Coad & Yazdan Keivany (2000). "Aphanius vladykovi Coad, 1988. Zagros pupfish, mahi-e gour-e khari". Journal of the American Killifish Association. 33 (6): 195–198.
  • Yazdan Keivany & Nasrollah Soofiani (2004). "Contribution to the biology of Zagros tooth-carp, Aphanius vladykovi (Cyprinodontidae) in central Iran". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 71 (2): 165–169. doi:10.1007/s10641-004-0106-y. S2CID 21629386.
  • Mehdi Raissy, Mahsa Ansari & Manouchehr Moumeni (2011). "Parasite fauna of Zagros tooth-carp, Aphanius vladykovi Coad, 1988 (Osteichthyes: Cyprinodontidae), in Gandoman Lagoon". Comparative Parasitology. 78 (1): 104–106. doi:10.1654/4474.1. S2CID 83655700.
  1. Christopher Scharpf; Kenneth J. Lazara (26 April 2019). "Order CYPRINODONTIFORMES: Families PANTANODONTIDAE, CYPRINODONTIDAE, PROFUNDULIDAE, GOODEIDAE, FUNDULIDAE and FLUVIPHYLACIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  2. Hakim Sabzevari University Natural History Museum Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Raissy, Mehdi; Ansari, Mahsa; Moumeni, Manouchehr (January 2011). "Parasite Fauna of the Zagros Tooth-Carp, Aphanius vladykovi Coad, 1988 (Osteichthyes: Cyprinodontidae), in Gandoman Lagoon". Comparative Parasitology. 78 (1): 104–106. doi:10.1654/4474.1. ISSN 1525-2647. S2CID 83655700.
  4. M., Raissy; E., Pirali; P., Mohseni (2018-10-30). "Identification of parasites of Aphanius vladykovi from Shalamzar and Salm Lakes, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province, Iran". مجله علمی شیلات ایران. 27 (4). doi:10.22092/ISFJ.2018.117720.
  5. Y., Keivany; M., Aalipour; M., Khalagy; S., Asadollah; M., Siami (2017-01-30). "Parasitic infestation in Chondrostoma regium and Aphanius vladykovi of the Behesht-Abad River (Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiary)". مجله علمی شیلات ایران. 25 (4). doi:10.22092/ISFJ.2017.110302.
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