Metadata

Troglocobitis starostini

(Parin 1983)

Troglocobitis starostini
Redrawn by Rhian Kendall from Parin (1983)
ORDERSUB-ORDERFAMILY
CypriniformesCobitoidei Nemacheilidae

Synonyms

Noemacheilus starostini  Parin 1983

Nemacheilus starostini  Parin 1983

Generic name misspelt Nemachilus by Pereladov (1989)

Country

Turkmenistan

Types

Holotype: ZISP 46159 49.5mm SL. Paratypes: ZISP 46160 3 specimens 36.7mm, 43.6mm, and 47.6mm SL. ZISP (no reference number) 44.2mm SL. ZMMU P16030 and P16031 56.8mm and 61.0mm SL. This species is the type species by monotypy of the subgenus Troglocobitis.

Distribution

Known only from the type locality: a "karst collapse" 45 km from the railway station at Tcharchanga and 60 km from the town of Gaourdak, in the mountainous area of Kugitangtau, Turkmenistan (c.40oN, 60oE). Despite a search of other similar sites in the same area Smirnov (1983) did not find any other locations for this species.

Habitat

Collected "in a karst collapse which opened in a region of subterraneous water flow” (Parin 1983), December water temperature 24oC (Smirnov 1983). The animals live in a lake within a gypsum cave and feed on a bacterial film on the surface of organic silt and/or on insect larvae and small Crustacea. This area is under the roosts of birds and bats. The fishes move about within the lake from depths of 4-5m down to at least 58m (Pereladov 1989). In May the water temperature was 19-20oC and the females were full of ripe eggs.                                                                                                                                             

Systematics

Sufficiently distinct to merit erection of the subgenus Troglocobitis to contain it. Nalbant and Linares (1987) placed this species in the genus Paracobitis (retaining the subgenus Troglocobitis) but without giving their reasons.

According to the detailed phylogenetic study of Prokofiev (2010) Troglocobitis is sister genus to Paracobitis and both of these together are sister to Iskandaria Prokofiev 2009. All three genera are inluded in the tribe Nemacheilini within the subfamily Nemacheilinae.

Conservation Status

MG TLO [VU D2:2.3:2000]

(Birstein, V. 2000. Nemacheilus starostini. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2000:  http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T39461A10239767.en. Downloaded on 14 July 2017). R (IUCN 1990), R (IUCN 1993), DD (IUCN 1996).

Museum Holdings

Four other specimens in addition to type series, probably at IOAS.

Key References

Parin, N. V. Journal Article 1983 Noemacheilus (troglocobitis) starostini sp. n. (Osteichthyes,Cobitidae) Novaya slepay a ryba iz podzemnykh vod Kuritangtau (Turkmeniya) [Noemacheilus (Troglocobitis) starostini sp. n. (Osteichthyes, Cobitidae) a new blind fish from subterranean waters of
Smirnov, S. Journal Article 1983 A blind cave loach from south-western Asia, Noemacheilus starostini Parin
Pereladov, M. Journal Article 1989 Some aspects of disrtibution of fishes in the subaquatic caves near Kugitang-Tau Mountains
Zalesskaja, N. T. Journal Article 1989 On the progres in Soviet biospeleology in the 1980s
Prokofiev, A.M. Journal Article 2009 Problems of the classification and phylogeny of nemacheiline loaches of the group lacking the preethmoid I (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae: Nemacheilinae)
Prokofiev, AM Journal Article 2010 Morphological classification of loaches (Nemacheilinae)
Kottelat, M. Journal Article 2012 Draconectes narinosus, a new genus and species of cave fish from an island of Halong Bay, Vietnam (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae).
Kottelat, M. Journal Article 2012 Conspectus cobitidum: An inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei)