Freshwater Fishes of Iran
Species Accounts - Marine Fishes List
Introduction
Fishes entering fresh water from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman are included in this file. The arrangement of families follows Nelson (1994). Farsi names are known for fish from marine environments and can be found in Sadeghi (2002).
Family Carcharhinidae
See the file on Carcharhinidae in the freshwater Species Accounts for details of Carcharhinus leucas, a shark in Iranian rivers.
Carcharhinus dussumieri
(Valenciennes in Müller and Henle, 1839)
This species is recorded from the Mehran River, Hormozdgan (26°53'N, 55°17'E) on 19 March 1978 where about 30 specimens were found dead. They probably entered the river on a freshet when salinity might have approached sea water and became trapped behind rapids as the water level fell. Increasing salinity and temperature could have caused the mortality. The water was at 21°C and conductivity was 43 milliSiemens. The Farsi name of this species is kooseh chaneh safid.
Family Engraulidae
See the file on Engraulidae in the freshwater Species Accounts for details of a Caspian Sea species.
Genus Thryssa
Cuvier, 1829
Thryssa hamiltoni
(Gray, 1835)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan by Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976), Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b) and Hussain et al. (1997; 2001) and from the Hawr al Hammar Marsh in Iraq (Al-Hassan, 1988). No Iranian record except a verbal one of specimens being caught between Ahvaz and Khorramshahr. A Thryssa species is reported from the Bahmanshir River as sheegh in Farsi (Marammazi, 1995).
Thryssa purava
(Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab and the Hawr al Hammar in Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan by Misra (1949) (but see under Thryssa whiteheadi), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975b), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976), Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). It may be that fishes identified as this species were Thryssa whiteheadi, as with the material identified by Misra (1949) and re-identified by Whitehead et al. (1988); some later reports may be repeating Misra's record. No Iranian record.
Thryssa setirostris
(Broussonet, 1782)
Reported from Basrah, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b) as Clupea setirostris but this is probably a mis-identification as Whitehead et al. (1988) do not record this species from the Persian Gulf. No Iranian record.
Thryssa vitirostris
(Gilchrist and Thompson, 1908)
Engraulis vitirostris is reported from the Karun River, Khuzestan by Mokhayer (1981).
Thryssa whiteheadi
Wongratana, 1983
Reported from the Hawr al Hammar, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Misra (1949) as Thrissocles purava, but re-identified by Whitehead et al. (1988). The record of Thryssa malabarica (Bloch, 1795) from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near the Iranian border by Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) may also be this species as Thryssa malabarica does not occur in the Persian Gulf (Whitehead et al., 1988). Reported from the lower Mand River in Bushehr Province at 28º07'N, 51º24'E by M. Rabbaniha (pers. comm., 1995).
Family Chirocentridae
Genus Chirocentrus
Cuvier, 1816
Chirocentrus dorab
(Forsskål 1775)
Reported from the Bahmanshir River of Iran with the Farsi name of kharow by Marammazi ( 1995). Also called kharu baleh siah in Farsi.
Chirocentrus nudus
Swainson, 1839
Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). No Iranian record. Called kharu baleh safid in Farsi.
Family Clupeidae
See the file on Clupeidae in the freshwater Species Accounts for details of Caspian Sea species.
Genus Hilsa
Regan, 1917
Hilsa kelee
(Cuvier, 1829)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab in Iraq, 25 km south of Basrah, near the border with the Iranian province of Khuzestan (N. A. Hussain, in litt., 1997). No Iranian record.
Genus Ilisha
Richardson, 1846
An Ilisha species is recorded from the Bahmanshir River (Marammazi, 1995) as picow in Farsi.
Ilisha compressa
Randall, 1995
Reported from the Shatt al Arab in Iraq near the border with the Iranian province of Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961) as Ilisha filigera (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847). This was a mis-identification as this species is not present in the Persian Gulf (Whitehead, 1985). Randall (1995a) refers Khalaf's material to a new species and presumably records by Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976) and Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) are also this new species originally described from Kuwait Bay, Kuwait. No Iranian record.
Ilisha megaloptera
(Swainson, 1839)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab in Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). May be a misidentification as this species is not present in the Persian Gulf (Whitehead, 1985). No Iranian record.
Genus Nematalosa
Regan, 1917
Nematalosa nasus
(Bloch, 1795)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar in Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Menon (1956), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975b, 1976), Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985), Al-Hassan (1988), Al-Hassan et al. (1989), and Hussain et al. (1989). Note that fish identified as N. nasus from the Persian Gulf may be other species, N. resticularia and N. persara (see Nelson and McCarthy (1995) for descriptions). It is reported from the Bahmanshir River of Iranian Khuzestan with the Farsi name gowaf by Marammazi (1995). Also called gowaf roshteh dar in Farsi.
Family Ariidae
Genus Arius
Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1840
Arius thalassinus
(Rüppell, 1837)
Reported from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar in Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Menon (1956), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962) and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976), and from the Bahmanshir in Iran with the Farsi name gorbeh mahi by Marammazi (1995). Also called gorbeh mahi bozorg.
Family Plotosidae
Genus Plotosus
Lacepède, 1803
Plotosus lineatus
(Thunberg, 1787)
Reported from the mouth of the Shatt al Arab at Fao (= Faw) in Iraq (a marine environment) near Iranian Khuzestan by Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b) and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976). This species rarely penetrates fresh waters but can be acclimated to freshwater aquaria. There is no freshwater record for the Persian Gulf area and no Iranian record.
Family Mugilidae
Species resident in fresh waters are dealt with under a separate
file (see Liza carinata Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by N. A. Hussain
(in litt., 1995) and Hussain et al. (1997; 2001). Placed in the
genus Chelon Rose, 1793 in Randall (1995b). No Iranian record.
Liza macrolepis Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and
Hussain (1985), Kuronuma and Abe (1986) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). A
species, possibly this one, is known from the Dez and Karun rivers. Reported
from the lower Mand River in Bushehr Province 28°14'N, 51°51'E, 28°26'N,
51°35'E, 28°11'N, 51°32'E and 28°07'N, 51°24'E by M. Rabbaniha (pers.
comm., 1995). Placed in the genus Chelon Rose, 1793 in Randall
(1995b).
Liza oligolepis Reported from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar, Iraq near
Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961) and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976). Presumably a
mis-identification since Thomson (1997) regards this species as a synonym of Liza
parmata (Cantor, 1850) which has a west Pacific Ocean distribution. No
Iranian record.
Family Belonidae Genus Strongylura Strongylura strongylurus Recorded from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar in Iraq near Iranian
Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda
(1976), Al-Hassan et al. (1989), and Hussain et al. (1989). No
Iranian record. Called manghar mahi in Farsi. Family Hemiramphidae
Genus Hemiramphus and
Genus Hyporhamphus Hemiramphus and Hyporhamphus spp.
Two records for Hemiramphus (sic) species were Hemiramphus
gaimardi Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847 (a synonym of Hyporhamphus
quoyi (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847 according to Parin et
al. (1980)) recorded by Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b) from the Hawr al
Hammar near Iranian Khuzestan and Hemiramphus xanthopterus Valenciennes
in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847 (now placed in the genus Hyporhamphus)
recorded by Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975a, 1975b, 1976) from the Shatt al Arab near
Iranian Khuzestan. These records may have referred to Hemiramphus marginatus
(Forrskål, 1775) since the two species are not known from the Persian Gulf (Parin
et al., 1980). Collette (1982) suggests that the records of H.
xanthopterus may be Hyporhamphus limbatus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and
Valenciennes, 1847) or Hyporhamphus sindensis (Regan, 1905), both of
which are known to enter fresh water; H. xanthopterus is known only from
Vembanad Lake in Kerala, southwest India. Bailey (1951) gives information on the
description dates for Cuvier and Valenciennes species. There are no confirmed
Iranian records for these species although a species, possibly H. limbatus,
is reported from the Karun River at Khorramshahr.
A. Afzali (pers. comm., 2002) reports seeing a hemiramphid in Minab (=
Esteghlal) Dam.
Genus Rhynchorhamphus Rhynchorhamphus georgii This species was recorded by Kanazawa (1955), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962),
Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975b, 1976), and Hussain et al. (1989) from the
Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar near Iranian Khuzestan. No Iranian record.
Family Platycephalidae
Genus Platycephalus Platycephalus indicus Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq or as entering fresh water in Iraq near
Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962) and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976).
Reported from the lower Mand River in Bushehr Province at 28°07'N, 51°24'E by
M. Rabbaniha (pers. comm., 1995) and from the Bahmanshir River, Khuzestan
with the Farsi name zamin kan (Marammazi, 1995).
Family Serranidae
Genus Epinephelus Epinephelus tauvina Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near the border with Iranian Khuzestan
by Khalaf (1961). Young of some serranids enter estuaries but this cannot be
considered as a freshwater resident. No Iranian record.
Family Apogonidae
Genus Apogon Apogon nigripinnis Reported from Basrah on the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by
Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b) as Apogon thurstoni Day, 1888 but Relyea
(1981) and Kuronuma and Abe (1986) refer Persian Gulf specimens to nigripinnis.
The specimen may have come from a fish market rather than the river. No Iranian
record.
Family Sillaginidae
Genus Sillago Sillago sihama Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf
(1961), Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985), Al-Hassan et al. (1989), and
Hussain et al. (1989; 1997). Reported from the lower Mand River in
Bushehr Province at 28º07'N,
51º24'E by M.
Rabbaniha as Sillago sillago, presumably this species (pers. comm.,
1995) and from the Bahmanshir River with the Farsi name hassun (Marammazi,
1995)
Family Carangidae An unidentified species in the genus Carangoides is reported from the
lower Mand River in Bushehr Province at 28°07'N, 51°24'E by M. Rabbaniha (pers.
comm., 1995).
Genus Alepes Alepes djedaba Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and
Hussain (1985) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). No Iranian record.
Genus Caranx Caranx sexfasciatus Recorded by Khalaf (1961) as entering rivers without specific reference to
Iraq. Young are known to enter estuaries elsewhere but no confirmed Iranian
record. A Caranx species is recorded from the Bahmanshir River (Marammazi,
1995) as geesh in Farsi.
Family Leiognathidae
Genus Leiognathus Leiognathus fasciatus Recorded from the Basrah on the Shatt al Arab in Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan
by Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b). Members of this family are known to enter
brackish waters but it is unclear whether the specimen was caught in the Shatt
al Arab or bought at the fish market in Basrah. Reported from the Bahmanshir
River, Khuzestan with the Farsi name panzjari by Marammazi (1995) as a Leiognathus
sp.
Family Haemulidae
Genus Pomadasys Pomadasys argyreus Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf
(1961). No Iranian record.
Family Gerreidae Genus Gerres Gerres limbatus Recorded from the Mand River
near Kaki at 28º26'15.6"N, 51º30"10.0"E
by Kai Borkenhagen (pers. comm., 16 April 2007). Family Sparidae See
also Sparidae in the Species accounts for
information on a species common in fresh waters. Acanthopagrus berda Reported from southern Iraq fresh waters near Iranian Khuzestan including the
Tigris River at Baghdad, the Hawr al Hammar and the Shatt al Arab (Kennedy,
1937; Khalaf, 1961; Mahdi, 1962; Al-Nasiri and Hoda, 1975b; 1976; Al-Hassan and
Hussain, 1985; Al-Hassan et al., 1989), as Petrus belayewi Misra
in Misra and Hora (1943) (probably a synonym) from rivers and hawrs of Iraq and
the Shatt al Arab (Hora and Misra, 1943; Khalaf, 1961; Mahdi, 1962) and as Sparidentex
hasta (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830) (a synonym) reported
from the Shatt al Arab by Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985), Al-Hassan et al.
(1989) and Hussain et al. (1989). No Iranian record.
Family Polynemidae
Genus Eleutheronema Eleutheronema tetradactylum Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf
(1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975b, 1976), Al-Hassan and Hussain
(1985), Al-Hassan et al. (1989), and Hussain et al. (1989). It is
reported from the Bahmanshir River, Khuzestan with the Farsi name rashgou (Marammazi,
1995). Also called rashgu ma'muli in Farsi. Family Sciaenidae
Genus Argyrosomus Argyrosomus amoyensis Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan as Pseudosciaena
sina (Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830) by Khalaf (1961) and as Johniopse
(sic) sina by Al-Hassan et al. (1989) but Trewavas (1977) refers
Khalaf's specimens to this species. No Iranian record.
Genus Johnieops Johnieops aneus Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Hussain et
al. (1989) as Johnius aneus. This species does not occur in the
Persian Gulf (Lal Mohan in Fischer and Bianchi, 1984) and this record is
probably a mis-identification. No Iranian record.
Genus Johnius Johnius belangerii This species is reported in the estuary of the Zohreh River (which drains to
the northern Persian Gulf in Iran) where it is caught mostly in autumn and is
less common than true freshwater species (Marammazi, 1994). Also recorded from
the Bahmanshir River (Marammazi, 1995). However Fischer and Bianchi (1984) do
not record this species from the Persian Gulf, restricting it to the west coast
of India and eastwards, and the identity of the fish referred to by Marammazi
(1994) remains to be determined.
Johnius carutta Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and
Hussain (1985) although this species is apparently not found in the Persian Gulf
(Trewavas, 1977; Lal Mohan in Fischer and Bianchi, 1984). No Iranian record.
Genus Otolithes Otolithes ruber Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Mahdi (1962),
Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976), and Hussain et al. (1989). Fishes identified
as Otolithes argenteus Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830 are this
species. It is reported from the Bahmanshir River, Khuzestan with the Farsi name
shoorideh by Marammazi (1995).
Family Terapontidae
Genus Terapon Terapon theraps Recorded by Khalaf (1961) as entering rivers without specific reference to
Iraq. Known to enter brackish waters elsewhere but no Iranian record.
Family Gobiidae
See also Gobiidae in the Species
Accounts for information on gobies resident in fresh waters.
Genus Acentrogobius Acentrogobius dayi The identification of this species from Basrah, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan
is tentative (Coad, 1991b). It is based on 2 specimens from fresh water near
Basrah at Almotoa (probably Al-Mutawwi'ah, 30°23'N, 48°10'E) collected by A.
H. Al-Rawi on 17 June 1960 (KU 10535, Museum of Natural History, University of
Kansas, Lawrence). No Iranian record.
Genus Bathygobius Bathygobius fuscus Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by N. A. Hussain
(in litt., 1995) and Hussain et al. (1997). No Iranian record.
Genus Scartelaos Scartelaos tenuis Recorded from the Shatt al Arab at Faw, Iraq (probably a marine habitat) near
Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961) and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976). This species
was considered to be a synonym of Scartelaos viridis (Hamilton-Buchanan,
1822) (correctly S. histophorus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes,
1837) according to Relyea (1981) but Koumans (1955) and Murdy (1989) regard it
as distinct. No Iranian record.
Family Ephippididae
Genus Drepane Drepane punctata Reported from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961)
and Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976). No Iranian record.
Family Scatophagidae
Genus Scatophagus Scatophagus argus Reported as entering rivers in Iraq and from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near
Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1975b),
Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985), Al-Hassan et al. (1989), and Hussain et
al. (1989). Reported from the Bahmanshir
River, Khuzestan with the Farsi name dokhtar nakhoda (Marammazi, 1995).
Family Siganidae
Genus Siganus Siganus sp.
Reported from the Bahmanshir River, Khuzestan with the Farsi
name sayfi (Marammazi, 1995).
Family Stromateidae Genus Pampus Pampus argenteus Recorded from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar, Iraq near Iranian
Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), and Al-Nasiri and Hoda
(1976). No Iranian record.
Pampus chinensis Recorded from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar, Iraq near Iranian
Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), and Al-Nasiri and Hoda
(1976). No Iranian record.
Family Soleidae
Genus Euryglossa Euryglossa orientalis Reported from the Shatt al Arab and Hawr al Hammar, Iraq near Iranian
Khuzestan by Misra (1949), Kanazawa (1955), Khalaf (1961), Mahdi (1962), Al-Nasiri
and Hoda (1975b, 1976), Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985), Al-Hassan et al.
(1989), and Hussain et al. (1989). No Iranian record.
Genus Solea Solea heinii Reported from Basrah on the Shatt al Arab in Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by
Nader and Jawdat (1977a, 1977b). It is not clear whether the specimen was from a
fish market rather than the river itself. This species is not reported from the
Persian Gulf by Menon in Fischer and Bianchi (1984) and may be a mis-identification.
No Iranian record.
Family Cynoglossidae
Genus Cynoglossus Cynoglossus arel Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Al-Hassan and
Hussain (1985) and Al-Hassan et al. (1989). Cynoglossus macrolepidotus
(Bleeker, 1801) reported by Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985) is a synonym of this
species (Menon in Fischer and Bianchi, 1984). It is reported from the
Bahmanshir River, Khuzestan with the Farsi name of zaban gavi by Marammazi
(1995).
Cynoglossus lingua Recorded from the Shatt al Arab, Iraq near Iranian Khuzestan by Khalaf
(1961), Al-Nasiri and Hoda (1976), and Al-Hassan and Hussain (1985). No Iranian
record.
© Brian W. Coad ( www.briancoad.com)
(Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1836)
(Smith, 1849)
(Bleeker, 1859)
van Hasselt, 1824
(van Hasselt, 1823)
Cuvier, 1816
Gill, 1859
Fowler, 1928
(Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1847)
Bloch, 1795
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Bloch, 1793
(Forsskål, 1775)
Lacepède, 1801
Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1828
Cuvier, 1816
(Forsskål, 1775)
Swainson, 1839
(Forsskål, 1775)
Lacepède, 1801
Quoy and Gaimard, 1824
Lacepède, 1802
(Lacepède, 1803)
Lacepède, 1802
(Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833)
Quoy and Gaimard, 1824
Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830
(Forsskål, 1775)
Bleeker, 1862
(Shaw, 1804)
de la Pylaie, 1835
(Bleeker, 1863)
Lal Mohan, 1972
(Bloch, 1793)
Bloch, 1793
(Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1830)
Bloch, 1793
Oken, 1817
(Schneider in Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
Cuvier, 1816
(Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1829)
Bleeker, 1874
Koumans, 1955
Bleeker, 1878
(Rüppell, 1830)
Swainson, 1839
(Day, 1876)
Cuvier in Cuvier and Valencinnes, 1831
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Cuvier in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1831
(Bloch, 1788)
Forsskål 1775
Bonaparte, 1837
(Euphrasen, 1788)
(Euphrasen, 1788)
Kaup, 1858
(Schneider in Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
Quensel, 1806
Steindachner, 1907
Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822
(Schneider in Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
(Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822)