Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist-2023

Abstract

The current status of the freshwater fishes of Syria is revised, and an updated checklist is presented. The confirmed freshwater fishes of Syria comprise 108 species belonging to 15 orders, 25 families, and 51 genera. Among these, 11 species (10.2%) are alien, and six species (5.6%) are considered endemic to Syria. The orders with the largest numbers of species in the ichthyofauna of Syria are Cypriniformes (68 species), followed by Siluriformes and (nine species), Cichliformes (eight species), Mugiliformes (seven species), Cyprinodontiformes (six species), and others represent one species in each. At the family level, Cyprinidae has the greatest number of species (30 species; 27.8% of the total species), followed by Leuciscidae (21 species), Nemacheilidae (11 species), Cichlidae (eight species), and Mugilidae (seven species). According to IUCN Red List criteria, among 97 naturally distributed species (alien species not included), Tristramella sacra extinct (EX) and 24 species (26.5%) are categorized as threatened extinctions, CR, EN, and VU (eight species in each). A total of 17 species previously reported from Syria have been excluded from the checklist, either in the present study or in previous studies.