title: Cobitis avicennae, a new species of spined loach from the Tigris River drainage (Teleostei: Cobitidae).
abstract: Cobitis avicennae, new species, from the Karkheh and Karun sub-drainages in the Tigris catchment is distinguished from other Cobitis species in the Persian Gulf, Kor and the southern Caspian Sea basins by having a single lamina circularis in males, a small comma-shaped black spot on the upper caudal-fin base, 5½ branched anal-fin rays, 5-6 rows of dark spots on the dorsal and caudal fins, scales below the dorsal-fin base with a small focal zone and pigmentation zone Z4 with 12-17 large, partly fused blotches. It is also distinguished from other Cobitis species in the comparison group by six fixed, diagnostic nucleotide substitutions in the mtDNA COI barcode region.
authors: Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Guilan, Sowmeh Sara, Guilan, Iran.; Email: mousavi-sabet@guilan.ac.ir.
authors: Hamed
authors: H
authors: Mousavi-Sabet
authors: Department of Fisheries, Babol Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran, Iran.; Email: s.vatandoust@gmail.com.
authors: Saber
authors: S
authors: Vatandoust
authors: Ichthyology Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.; Email: hresmaeili22@gmail.com.
authors: Hamid Reza
authors: HR
authors: Esmaeili
authors: Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Leibniz Institute for Animal Biodiversity, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany.; Email: m.geiger@zfmk.de.
authors: Matthias F
authors: MF
authors: Geiger
authors: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5a, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.; Email: joerg.freyhof@idiv.de.
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Freyhof
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000825:Animal Structures / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size; D003531:Cypriniformes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial