Alburnoides qanati , a new species of cyprinid fish from southern Iran ( Actinopterygii , Cyprinidae )

Alburnoides qanati, sp. n. is described from a qanat in the Pulvar River drainage of Fars Province in southern Iran. Th e new taxon is distinguished from other members of the genus Alburnoides by a combination of characters including a scaled ventral keel, (41, 42)43-47(48, 49) lateral line scales to posterior margin of hypurals, 2.5-4.2 pharyngeal teeth, commonly 81⁄2 branched dorsal-fi n rays, 10-121⁄2 branched anal-fi n rays, 40-41 total vertebrae, and caudal vertebral region equal or slightly longer than an abdominal region (vertebral formulae 20+20 or 20+21).


Introduction
Alburnoides bipunctatus (Bloch, 1782) has long been considered a complex species with a number of subspecies found from France through Europe north of the Alps eastwards to the Black, Caspian and Aral Sea basins (e.g.Berg 1949;Bogutskaya and Naseka 2004;Coad 2009).Some of the subspecies were recently given a rank of species, e.g. A. ohridanus (Karaman, 1928) and A. prespensis (Karaman, 1924) (Kottelat and Freyhof 2007).Formally, the only species hitherto reported from Iran is Alburnoides bipunc-tatus.In Iran, it is widely distributed and is found in the basins of the Caspian Sea, Lake Orumiyeh, Tedzhen River, Kavir, Namak Lake, Esfahan (Zayandeh and Shur rivers), Tigris River, Persian Gulf drainage, and Kor River (see a review in Coad 2009).Th e taxon in the Caspian Sea basin is often referred to a subspecies, A. bipunctatus eichwaldii (De Filippi, 1863), e.g. by Bogustkaya (1997), although some authors consider it to be a full species (Fricke et al. 2007).
A new species is described here from a qanat stream in the valley of the Pulvar River, a tributary of the Kor River.Th e Kor is the principal river of an endorheic basin in Fars Province, southern Iran.Qanats are artifi cial irrigation channels that tap groundwater through adits (Coad 1996).

Methods
Counts and measurements follow Hubbs and Lagler (1958).Measurements are to the nearest 0.1 mm.Head length and interorbital width were measured to their bony margins.Fin ray counts separate unbranched and branched rays.Th e last two branched rays articulated on a single pterygiophore in dorsal and anal fi ns are noted as "1½".Mean and standard deviation were calculated without "½".Counts of radii were made on three scales for each specimen taken from the caudal peduncle above the lateral line and include both primary and secondary radii.Lateral line scales count includes all pierced scales, from the fi rst one just behind the supracleithrum to the posteriormost one at the base of the caudal fi n rays (i.e.posterior margin of hypurals) excluding 1 or 2 scales located on the bases of the caudal fi n rays.Osteological characters are examined in cleared-and-stained specimens and from radiographs of 918 specimens from 1066 which are listed below.
Th e type series is deposited in CMNFI.Diagnosis.Th e species is distinguished by a combination of characters which includes a large eye, the orbit width exceeding both the snout length and the interorbital width, a scaled ventral keel behind the pelvic fi ns along the abdomen to the anus, commonly 43-47 lateral line scales to posterior margin of hypurals, 2.5-4.2pharyngeal teeth, commonly 8½ branched dorsal-fi n rays, 10-12½ branched anal-fi n rays, 40-41 total vertebrae, an d the caudal vertebral region equal or longer then the abdominal region (vertebral formulae 20+20 or 20+21).

Alburnoides qanati
Description of holotype.A ventral keel between the pelvics and the anal fi n is developed but is completely covered by scales.Th ere is a pelvic axillary scale and scales extend over the proximal bases of the anal fi n.Th e lateral line is decurved and only the last few scales are elevated and on the mid-caudal peduncle.Dorsal fi n rays are 3 unbranched and 8½ branched, anal fi n rays are 3 unbranched and 12½ branched, branched pectoral fi n rays are 15, pelvic fi n branched rays are 7. Th e anal-fi n origin is behind the posterior end of the dorsal-fi n base.Lateral line scales to posterior margin of hypurals number 46, scales above lateral line to dorsal fi n origin are 9, scales below lateral line to anal fi n origin are 4, scales below lateral line to pelvic fi n origin are 4, and total vertebrae are 41 (including 4 Weberian vertebrae and last complex centrum), comprising 20 abdominal and 21 caudal vertebrae.
Th e upper body profi le is straightened while the lower profi le is considerably convex.Th e snout is short and slightly pointed.Th e mouth is upturned, the tip of the mouth cleft is on a level with the upper margin of the pupil.Th e body depth enters standard length 3.6 times, head length enters 3.8, predorsal length 2.0, postdorsal length 2.8, caudal peduncle depth 8.6, caudal peduncle length 4.6, length of longest dorsal fi n ray 4.4, and length of longest anal fi n ray to scale sheath 6.3.Orbit width enters head length 3.2 times, snout length enters 3.3, and interorbital width 3.3.Pectoral fi n length enters pectoral fi n origin to pelvic fi n origin distance 1.1 times, and pelvic fi n length enters pelvic fi n origin to anal fi n origin distance 1.3 times.
Pigmentation of the holotype in 5% formalin consisted of a dark lateral line dividing the hypaxial and epaxial muscle masses and a weakly developed stripe of black pigment on mid-fl ank prominent posteriorly on the caudal peduncle but fading over the pectoral fi n and often interrupted anteriorly.Th e lateral line pores were lined by pigment dorsally and ventrally.A mid-dorsal line was apparent before the dorsal fi n, weakly developed behind the fi n.Th e fi ns were mostly hyaline with some black pigment lining the fi n rays of the dorsal and caudal fi ns, the dorsal rays of the pectoral fi ns and the anterior rays of the anal fi n.
Description of paratypes.Th e following description is based primarily on the 15 males and 15 females listed above.
Th e body is markedly compressed.Th e upper body profi le is convex or, in larger specimens, slightly to markedly straightened while the lower profi le is considerably convex.Th e ventral keel between the pelvics and anal fi n is not sharp and is completely covered by scales in all specimens but four possessing a short scaleless portion of keel (about ¼ of keel length) just in front of the anus.Th e anal-fi n origin is behind the posterior end of the dorsal-fi n base.Th e snout is short and slightly pointed.Th e mouth is terminal to upturned, with the tip of the mouth cleft on a level from slightly above the middle of the eye to the upper margin of the pupil.Th e mouth cleft is always turned upward, never horizontal, the lower jaw slightly to moderately projecting relative to the upper jaw, and the junction of the lower jaw and the quadrate is on about a vertical through the anterior eye margin.
Pharyngeal tooth counts are 2.5-4.2 in 10 fi sh examined with one additional fi sh being a variant with 2.4-4.0.Teeth are hooked at the tip and not serrated below it.Th e gut shape is a simple "S" with an occasional specimen showing a slight fl exure to the left of the anterior loop.Th e peritoneum is rarely dark brown but usually is white-grey to light brown with black spots.A postcleithrum bone is present and reduced, or absent, in the pectoral fi n skeleton.
Overall colouration is silvery with the bases of the pectoral, pelvic and anal fi ns pink in life.An orange line parallels the anal fi n base and the lateral line, lying midway between the two.Th e ventral surface of the head between the dentaries may be yelloworange and similarly coloured spots may be found on either side of the dorsal mid-line extending along the whole body.Faint yellow spots occur in rows along the fl anks also.
Pigmentation in preserved fi sh is as described for the holotype although the lateral stripe is weakly-developed in some specimens, the mid-fl ank band of spots of black pigment may be variably developed, and the lateral line may be clearly or only faintly edged by pigment.
Etymology.Th e species is named for the qanat habitat in which it was found, now fast disappearing with the use of pump wells, and in recognition of the contribution to civilization made by the Iranian people through this innovative irrigation technique.
Distribution and habitat.To our knowledge, Alburnoides qanati is the southernmost Alburnoides species.Th is species is only found in the internal, endorheic drainage basin of the Kor [Kur] River which terminates in the salt lakes Tashk and Bakhtegan which are variably connected and distinct, with Tashk being the northern basin receiving the Kor River (Fig. 3).Th e Pulvar [Polvār] River is the principal tributary to the Kor River (the classical Araxes) which rises in the Zagros Mountains.Th e type series was collected from a small stream which issues from a qanat (Fig. 4) near the archaeological site of Naqsh-e Rostam to the northeast of Persepolis.
Th e qanat taps groundwater through an adit and is used to irrigate fi elds fl anking the Pulvar River, without the need to raise water from the incised river bed.Qanat streams fl ow into the nearest watercourse, enabling fi sh to colonise them.Some are stocked with fi sh from the nearest natural water body (Coad 1996).Th is qanat stream at 15.00 hours on 6 October 1976 had clear and colourless water, a temperature of 21°C, pH 6.8, conductivity 0.475 mS, the current was slow to medium, stream width was about 2 m and maximum depth was up to 1 m, the shore was grassy, plant life in the stream consisted of encrusting and submergent types, and the stream bed was gravel and mud.Other species caught in the stream were Alburnus cf.mossulensis, Capoeta cf.damascina and Paracobitis cf.malapterura.Barbus luteus is also found here.
Unnamed Alburnoides species mentioned above represent to our opinion unnamed distinct species we describe in a separate paper (Bogutskaya and Coad in press), so, we do not provide here their specifi c names to avoid using them in an unavailable way.