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Karl-Heinz Dau (1 Stamp) Sayyadzadeh et al (3)

Resolution of the taxa found in Iran awaits more extensive material for a better understanding of individual and species variation. Description: The pectoral fin extends to origin of pelvic fin (pectoral fin length in SL 3.8-4.1); head long (4.0-4.2 in SL). Reported from the Tigris River basin in Iraq but no Iranian record. Species identity in the Tigris needs confirmation by specimens. See Banister (1980) for a brief history of the confusion surrounding the name of this species in the literature. The validity of the described Glyptothorax species in the Tigris-Euphrates has not been adequately resolved. Four other nominal species occur in addition to G. cous, namely G. armeniacus (Berg, 1918), G. steindachneri (Pietschmann, 1913), G. kurdistanicus (Berg, 1931) and G.silviae Coad, 1981, (see Coad and Delmastro (1985) for a partial discussion of this problem). The genus Glyptothorax is characterised by a flattened head, an adipose fin of moderate length, a short dorsal fin with a strong spine, the spine serrated anteriorly or posteriorly, or smooth, pectoral fin spine serrated posteriorly and in some with plicate skin ventrally, 4 pairs of barbels, maxillary barbels broadly based, an inferior and transverse mouth, villiform teeth on the roof of the mouth in two patches, eyes small and partly obscured by skin, gill openings wide, gill membranes joined to the isthmus, and an adhesive apparatus on the chest formed from plaits or folds of skin, often with a central depression.

Tigris cat

Silurus cous

Sisoridae

Asia: Iran, Syria, endemic to the Tigris-Euphrates basin. Type locality: Syria.

10.0cm (4ins)-15.0cm (6ins)

20-24°c (67-75°f.)

6.5-7.5.

Coad, W.B. Freshwater Fishes of Iran. Species Accounts - Sisoridae. www.briancoad.com
Coad, W.B. Glyptothorax silviae, a New Species of Sisorid Catfish from Southwestern Iran. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology Vol.27, No 4. 1981.
Sayyadzadeh, G.; Zarei, F.; Esmaeili, H.R. Glyptothorax (Teleostei: Sisoridae) from the Middle East: An Integrated Molecular and Morphological Insight into Its Taxonomic Diversity. Diversity 2022.