Iran. J. Ichthyol. (October 2019), 6(Suppl. 1): 1-171 Received: January 17, 2019 © 2019 Iranian Society of Ichthyology Accepted: October 7, 2019 P-ISSN: 2383-1561; E-ISSN: 2383-0964 doi: 10.22034/iji.v6i0.454 http://www.ijichthyol.org Research Article Annotated checklist of the fishes of the Persian Gulf: Diversity and conservation status Soheil EAGDERI*1, Ronald FRICKE2, Hamid Reza ESMAEILI3, Paria JALILI1 1Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. 2Im Ramstal 76, 97922 Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. 3Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory, Zoology Section, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. *Email: [email protected] Abstract: This checklist aims to reviews and summarize the results of the systematic researches on the Persian Gulf ichthyofauna that has been carried out for more than 200 years. Since the work of C. Niebuhr, a Danish biologist in the 18th century, the number of valid species has increased significantly and the systematic status of many of the species has changed, and reorganization and updating of the published information has become essential. Here we take the opportunity to provide a new and updated checklist of fishes of Persian Gulf based on literature and taxon occurrence data obtained from natural history and new fish collections. The total confirmed fish species of Persian Gulf comprise 744 species, 131 families, 445 genera and 27 orders. In the class Chondrichthyes, the most diverse family is Charcharhinidae with 23 species (41.89%), followed by Dasyatidae with 15 species (31.08%). Within the class Actinopterygii, Gobiidae with 65 species (9.70%), Carangidae with 45 species (6.27%), Serranidae with 25 species (3.73%), Apogonidae with 25 species (3.73%), Lutjanidae with 23 species (3.43%) and Blenniidae with 23 species (3.43%) are the most diverse families in the Persian Gulf. Keywords: Fish diversity, Indo-Pacific, Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, Iran. Citation: Eagderi, S.; Fricke, R.; Esmaeili, H.R. & Jalili, P. 2019. Annotated checklist of the fishes of the Persian Gulf: Diversity and conservation status. Iranian Journal of Ichthyology 6(Suppl. 1): 1-171. Introduction (Sheppard 1993). The Persian Gulf lies entirely north of the tropic of The Persian Gulf comprises a large shallow Cancer and therefore, it can be considered as a sub- marine environment with wide fluctuations in tropical region. It has been located within the large, temperature and salinity due to its climatic regime. arid East Asian land mass having more tropical Hence, its fish species must be capable of climate in summer, and more temperate climate in withstanding the stress of osmotic and temperature winter (Michel et al. 1986; Sheppard 1993). The extremes (Carpenter et al. 1997). Seawater Persian Gulf is semi-enclosed about 1,000km long temperatures of the Persian Gulf can exceed 34°C in and 200-300km wide with an average depth of 36m summer and might be less than 15°C in winter (Rezai and a maximum depth of 120m (Michel et al. 1986). et al. 2004). One important feature associated with It is separated from the Makran/Oman Sea by the such a conditions is high salinity, which is commonly Strait of Hormuz, which is restricted to 56km at its over 40ppt, rises to over 50ppt across large areas, and narrowest point (Carpenter et al. 1997). Its intertidal even exceeds 70ppt in most embayments that have areas are extensive with very gradual slopes from the some degree of ponding (Sheppard 1993). supra-littoral to several km offshore. In several Furthermore, the narrow Strait of Hormuz limits regions, frequent uplifted rocky areas (commonly larval dispersal from adjacent seas and hence is reef) add relief to a generally very level terrain another factor shaping the species composition of the 1 Iran. J. Ichthyol. (October 2019), 6(Suppl. 1): 1-171 Persian Gulf. It was part of a semi-enclosed marine and distributions for the Persian Gulf. This five- basin that was completely dry as recently as 20000 volume publication did not cover all fish groups years ago during the late Pleistocene ice age (see also thoroughly, and many of the distributions were not Esmaeili et al. 2014), thus its current species well-known at the time of publication. Morever, a composition is mostly derived from re-colonisation wide range of articles are now being published on the by the Indo-Pacific biota. During the Last Glacial biology, biogeography and genetic variation of fishes Maximum (LGM) of the Late Pleistocene (21,000- (e.g., Teimori et al. 2012, 2014; Ghanbarifardi et al. 18,000 y. BP), the floor of the Persian Gulf was 2014a, b, 2016; Polgar et al. 2017). Hence, providing exposed due to the global fall in sea level, and it later an updated checklist and an accurate use of scientific affected the diversity of both freshwater and marine names is essential to communicate research results fishes (Esmaeili et al. 2014). effectively. Study of the fishes of the Persian Gulf was started by P. Forsskål, a Danish biologist, at nineteen century Materials and Methods (Fricke 2008). Subsequent studies have yielded This checklist has been resulted from the works listed dramatic increases in our knowledge of the in the references and also by examination or biodiversity of the Persian Gulf and Makran Sea accessing available data in ichthyological collections fishes and accounts have been published by many in Iran (e.g., ZM-CBSU, Zoological Museum of authors in different countries describing and Shiraz University, Collection of Biology discussing fishes subsequently found in the region Department, Shiraz; IMNRFI-UT, Ichtyological (Regan 1905; Holly 1929; Blegvad & Løppenthin Museum of Natural Resources Faculty, University of 1944; Fowler & Steinitz 1956; Menon 1960; Khalaf Tehran, and Iranian Natural History Museum) and 1961; Mahdi 1962; Kuronuma & Abe 1972, 1986; extensive field expeditions till January 2019. Nellen 1973; Kuronuma 1974; Basson et al. 1977; Higher classification follows Nelson (2006), Relyea 1981). In more recent years, Fischer & family classification follows Laan et al. (2014), Bianehi (1984), Kuronuma & Abe (1986), Ahmed updated according to Fricke et al. (2019). The more (1986), Carpenter et al. (1997), Springer & Williams recent version of fishes of the world by Nelson et al. (1994), Randall et al. (1994); Randall (1995a), (2016) has not been used here. The deadline for Ghanbarifardi & Malek (2007), Al-Jufaili (2010), including taxa in this checklist was September 2019. Ghanbarifardi et al. (2014 a, b), Ghanbarifardi et al. Collection codes: AMNH, The American Museum of (2016), Sadeghi et al. (2017, 2019a), Mehraban & Natural History, New York, NY, U.S.A.; BMNH, Esmaeili (2017) and Sadeghi & Esmaeili (2019a, b) The Natural History Museum, London, U.K.; CAS, have contributed more about the diversity of fishes in California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, this region, particularly in the Persian Gulf and U.S.A.; FMNH, Field Museum of Natural History, Makran Sea. Chicago, IL, U.S.A.; GCRL, Gulf Coast Research According to Blegvad & Loppenthin (1936-1938), Laboratory Museum, Ocean Springs, MS, U.S.A.; fish species of the Iranian Gulf comprise 214 species IOM, P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, within 70 families. Kuronuma & Abe (1972) also Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; LACM, Los provided the fish species list of Kuwait’s Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los ichthyofaunal reporting 465 species within 101 Angeles, CA, U.S.A.; MCZ, Museum of families. Furthermore, Fischer & Bianchi (1984) Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, Boston, have provided a five-volume guide book regarding MA, U.S.A.; MHNG, Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, the fishes of the western Indian Ocean region served Département d'Herpétologie et Ichthyologie, Ville de as the most authoritative source for fish identification Genève, Genève, Switzerland; MNHN, Muséum 2 Eagderi et al.- Annotated checklist of the fishes of the Persian Gulf National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; MRAC, most diverse order in this class is Carcharhiniformes Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, (31 species, 41.89%), followed by Myliobatiformes Belgium; NMW, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, (23 species, 31.08%). The most diverse family in Austria; NRM, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, class Chondrichthyes is the family Carcharhinidae Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Ichthyology (23 species, 31.08%), followed by Dasyatidae (14 Section, Stockholm, Sweden; RMNH, Naturalis - species, 18.91%). National Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden, In class Actinopterygii, 670 species in 400 genera, Netherlands; SAIAB, South African Institute for 109 families, and 20 orders were listed. In this class, Aquatic Biodiversity, National Research Foundation, the most diverse orders include the Perciformes (471 Grahamstown, South Africa; SIO, Scripps Institution species, 70.30%), followed by Clupeiformes (38 of Oceanography, Marine Vertebrate Collection, La species, 5.67%), Scorpaeniformes (31 species, Jolla, CA, U.S.A.; SMF, Senckenberg 4.63%), Pleuronectiformes (28 specie, 4.18%) and Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Abteilung Tetraodontiformes (27 species, 4.03%). The most Marine Zoologie, Sektion Ichthyologie, Frankfurt am diverse family in this class is Gobiidae (65 species, Main, Germany; UMMZ, University of Michigan 9.70%), followed by Carangidae (42 species, 6.27%), Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A; URUN, Serranidae (25 species, 3.73%), Apogonidae (25 Université de La Réunion, Laboratoire