Historical review on the taxonomy of Squalius berak Heckel, 1843 (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)
Hamid Reza ESMAEILI, Roozbehan KHAEFI, Rasol ZAMMANIAN NEJAD Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Lab., Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
The Mesopotamian chub, Squalius berak was described from Kueik (Qweik) River in Aleppo Province in Syria by Heckel (1843) and appeared as name only and spelled Berag on p. 1041. It was considered as synonym of Leuciscus cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) for the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers populations. The name of S. berak has sometimes been used for various populations of Squalius from south-western Anatolia and now as valid species distributed in the Euphrates and Tigris River drainages in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey which drain into the Persian Gulf. Squalius berak is distinguished from other Squalius species found in the adjacent Caspian Sea, Namak Lake, Kavir and Persian Gulf basins by having a sub-terminal mouth, upper lip projecting beyond lower lip and absence of knob on lower jaw symphysis.
