Biologists have found a new species of carp in the waters of Lake Manyas in Anatolia, Turkey.
The newly discovered carp species Alburnoides manyasensis (Davut Turan)
The newly discovered species, called Alburnoides manyasensis, belongs the large carp family Cyprinidae that includes freshwater fishes such as the carps, the minnows, and their relatives.
This is the largest fish family, and more notably the largest family of vertebrate animals, with the remarkable numbers of over 2,400 species. Cyprinids are highly important food fish because they make the largest part of biomass in most water types except for fast-flowing rivers.
The genus Alburnoides is widely distributed in Turkey in rivers and streams of basins of the Marmara, Black and Aegean seas, being absent only from the Mediterranean Sea basin. It is distinguished by small black spots located on each side of the fish, especially prominent on the anterior of the body.
The specimens of A. manyasensis, described in the open access journal Zookeys, were collected from the Koca Stream drainage of Lake Manyas, Marmara Sea basin in Anatolia.
The name of the species is an adjective that is derived from the name of Lake Manyas to which the new species is possibly endemic.
A. manyasensis inhabits clear fast running water with cobble and pebble substrates. It is a comparatively small representative of the family with maximum known body length of only 3.6 inches (92 mm) while the largest representative of the family, the giant barb Catlocarpio siamensis can reach up to the astonishing 10 feet (3 m) in length.
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Bibliographic information: Turan D, Ekmekci FG, Kaya C, Guclu SS (2013) Alburnoides manyasensis (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae), a new species of cyprinid fish from Manyas Lake basin, Turkey. ZooKeys 276: 276: 85–02, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.276.4107
