Taxonomic Study of Bony Fishes (Osteichthyes) in the Euphrates River at Al-Raqqa Governorate, Syria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56286/NTU-JAVS.2026.6.1.88-98Keywords:
Bony fish, Freshwater fish, Taxonomy, Euphrates River, SyriaAbstract
The research aims to study the classification of Osteichthyes or Bony Fish in the Euphrates River passing through Al-Raqqa governorate Syria. The fish were collected from three stations in the Euphrates River passing through Al-Raqqa city, at a rate of once a month and for one and a half years from 1/1/2024 until 1/6/2025. Eight families, belonging to 17 genders, were registered as follows: The genus Mystus is the only one identified as belonging to the family Bagridae. Tilapia and Sarotherodon are genera that belong to the family Cichlidae. ten genera are known to exist in the family Cyprinidae: Carasobarbus, Cyprinus, Cyprinion, Garra, Carassius, and Paracapoeta. The genus Heteropneustes was assigned to the family Heteropnneustidae. The genus Mastacembelus was documented by the Mastacembelidae family, the genus Planiliza by the Mugilidae family, the one genera Silurus by the Siluridae family and the genus Acanthobrama, Alburnus, Leuciseus and Chondrostoma by the Leuciscidae family.
References
REFERENCES
ABDULLAH, A. H. J., ABDULLAH, S. A., ZIYADI, M. S., & AL-FAIZ, N. A. (2022). Investigation of changes in the fish assemblage building and abundance in the Garmat Ali River, Southern Iraq. FishTaxa-Journal of Fish Taxonomy, 25. https://fishtaxa.com/menuscript/index.php/ft/article/view/80.
Ablak-Gurbuz, O., & Bonner, T. H. (2020). Current assessment of species composition and biological characteristics of fishes in the transboundary rivers in Turkey. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 133(1), 76-108. https://meridian.allenpress.com/pbsw/article-abstract/133/1/76/446573/Current-assessment-of-species-composition-and.
A?damar, S. (2017). Türkiye iç sular?nda da??l?m gösteren istilac? bal?klardan gümü?i havuz bal??? (Carassius gibelio Bloch, 1782) populasyonlar?n?n genetik çe?itlili?inin belirlenmesi. Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Doktora Tezi, Mu?la, 115.https://platform.almanhal.com/Details/Thesis/2000130623?ID=4-2000130623.
AL TAHA, M. (2005). Taxonomic Study of Fish Fauna and its Geographical Distribution in the lower Euphrates basin (Deir Ezzor). Master's Thesis, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria, p1-60.https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&authuser=1&q=M+AL+TAHA+-+Master%27s+Thesis%2C+Tishreen+University%2C+Lattakia%2C+Syria%2C+2005&btnG=
Al-Khalaf, MA. (2008). Study of the Qualitative, Quantitative and Natural Composition of Fish in Al Hamraat Lake. Master's Thesis, Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria.p11-32.https://journal.tishreen.edu.sy/index.php/bioscnc/article/view/11576
Al-Majid, Z. (2019). Taxonomic study of fish fauna in tishreen lake (Euphrates river). Tishreen University Journal-Biological Sciences Series, 41(6).Abou Zakhem, B., & Hafez, R. (2007). Environmental isotope study of seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer (Syria). Environmental Geology, 51, 1329-1339.https://journal.tishreen.edu.sy/index.php/bioscnc/article/view/9334
Al-Masri, M. S., Mamish, S., Budeir, Y., &Nashwati, A. (2000). 210Po and 210Pb concentrations in fish consumed in Syria. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 49(3), 345-352.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265931X99001241
Batal,Mohamed,Mojahed;Mansour,Cathrine;Deeb, Deem. (2021).The Study of food spectrum of Liza abu (Heckel,1843) in the lower part of Al-Asaad Lake Reservoir (Raqqa, Syria).Tishreen University, Journal-Biological Sciences Series 43.6: 81-92. https://journal.tishreen.edu.sy/index.php/bioscnc/article/view/11576.
Beckman, W. C. (1962). The freshwater fishes of Syria and their general biology and management (No. 8). Fisheries Division, Biology Branch, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.https://www.sidalc.net/search/Record/unfao:681551/Description
Coad, B. W. (1991). Fishes of the Tigris-Euphrates basin: a critical checklist.https://agris.fao.org/search/en/providers/122621/records/64739669ce9437aa76003b60
Coad, B. W. (1996). Exotic fish species in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Zoology in the Middle East, 13(1), 71-84.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09397140.1996.10637707
German Mission -GTZ. (1980). Ecological biological study in Alasad Lake, the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Department of Fisheries-190.https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9039391/file/9039392.pdf
GÖÇER, M., YANAR, Y., & AYDIN, M. (2024). Exploring collagen diversity in the bone of mesopotamian catfish (Silurus triostegus, Heckel, 1843). GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 27(3), 112-122. https://gsconlinepress.com/journals/gscbps/content/exploring-collagen-diversity-bone-mesopotamian-catfish-silurus-triostegus-heckel-1843.
Hind Dyia, H., Abed Hassan, B., & Atheer Hussain, A. (2023). Diversity of Freshwater Fishes in Iraq. Revis Bionatura, 8(3), 109. https://www.revistabionatura.com/files/2023.08.03.109.pdf.
Jawad, L. A., Abed, J., Mohsen, Z., & Al-Janabi, M. (2021). A confirmed record of the European catfish Silurus glanis L., 1758 (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Siluridae) from the southern marshes of Iraq, with a new anatomical set of characters to separate S. glanis and S. triostegus. Integrative Systematics: Stuttgart Contributions to Natural History, 3(1), 85-100. https://bioone.org/journals/integrative-systematics-stuttgart-contributions-to-natural-history/volume-3/issue-1/insy.v03.a6/A-confirmed-record-of-the-European-catfish-Silurus-glanis-L/10.18476/insy.v03.a6.full.
Jawad, L. A., Al-Sheikhly, O. F., & Al-Dirawi, A. M. (2021). The Danube Sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt & Ratzeburg, 1833 (Actinopterygii, Acipenseridae) in the Euphrates River, Iraq. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Zootechnica, 20(2).https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0032945220020071.
Mohammad, R. G., & Rhadhi, F. A. (2020). Systematics and distribution of freshwater Icthyofauna in Babylon province. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics, 16(2), 131-144. https://ijab.um.ac.ir/article_30989.html.
Pöllath, N., & Peters, J. (2023). Distinct modes and intensity of bird exploitation at the dawn of agriculture in the Upper Euphrates and Tigris River basins. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15(10), 154. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-023-01841-1.
Resen, A. K. (2018). The Ecological Characteristic of The Fish Assemblage at Southern part of Shatt AL-Arab River. Research Journal of Science and Technology, 10(3), 217-222. https://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:rjst&volume=10&issue=3&article=006.
Rzóska, J., & Banister, K. E. (1980). The fishes of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Euphrates and Tigris, Mesopotamian ecology and destiny, 95-108. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-009-9171-2_9.
Saç, G., & Özulu?, M. (2017). New data on distribution of three invasive freshwater fish species in ?stanbul (Turkey). Acta Biologica Turcica, 30(1), 11-15. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/actabiotr/issue/38830/452458.
Ünlü, E., Çiçek, T., De?er, D., & Coad, B. W. (2011). Range extension of the exotic Indian stinging catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794)(Heteropneustidae) into the Turkish part of the Tigris River watershed. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 27(1). https://openurl.ebsco.com/EPDB%3Agcd%3A2%3A19785138/detailv2?sid=ebsco%3Aplink%3Ascholar&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A57480587&crl=c.
Xu, P., Zhang, X., Wang, X., Li, J., Liu, G., Kuang, Y., ... & Sun, X. (2014). Genome sequence and genetic diversity of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. Nature genetics, 46(11), 1212-1219. https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3098.
Yedier, S., Bostanci, D., & Polat, N. (2021). New Distribution Data for Prussian Carp (Bloch 1782) in the Middle Black Sea Region of Turkey. Croatian Journal of Fisheries, 79(2), 83-88. https://intapi.sciendo.com/pdf/10.2478/cjf-2021-0010.
Yerli, S. V., Mang?t, F., Emiro?lu, Ö., Ye?en, V., Uysal, R., Ünlü, E., ... & Zengin, M. (2014). Distribution of invasive Carassius gibelio (Bloch, 1782)(Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 14(2), 581-590. https://www.trjfas.org/uploads/pdf_99.pdf.
