| Diagnosis |
Paraschistura susiani is distinguished its congeners in Iran by a combination of the following non-unique characters: oval, blunt suborbital flap in males (vs. vertically elongated and slightly pointed in P. pasatigris); caudal peduncle 1.4-1.6 times longer than deep vs. 1.6-1.8 in P. pasatigris; 1.1-1.4 in P. nielseni); a suborbital flap in males (vs. suborbital groove in P. nielseni; no suborbital flap or groove in P. aredvii; no suborbital flap in P. abdolii, P. cristata, P. kessleri, P. naumanni and P. turcmenica); back and flank fully covered by scales (vs. absence of scales on the back and on the flank in front of the dorsal-fin origin in P. abdolii and P. cristata and scales completely absent in P. kessleri and P. turcmenica); absence of a long dorsal adipose crest (vs. presence in P. cristata); pelvic-fin origin behind a vertical through dorsal-fin origin (vs. below or slightly in front in P. naumanni); a pointed suborbital flap in males overlapping the slit below the lachrymal bone (vs. triangular, not overlapping the slit in P. bampurensis and P. hormuzensis) and a blunt snout (vs. pointed in P. bampurensis and P. hormuzensis) (Ref. 103390).
Description: Dorsal fin with 7 1/2, anal fin with 5 1/2, pectoral fin with 7-9 and pelvic fin with 6-7 branched rays; caudal fin deeply emarginate (Ref. 103390). |