FishTaxa (2018) 3(4): 1-39 E-ISSN: 2458-942X Journal homepage: www.fishtaxa.com © 2018 FISHTAXA. All rights reserved Endemic freshwater fishes of Turkey Erdoğan ÇIÇEK*,1, Ronald FRICKE2, Sevil SUNGUR3, Soheil EAGDERI4 1Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Sciences, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, 50300, Nevşehir, Turkey. 2Im Ramstal 76, 97922 Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. 3Health Services Vocational School, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, 50300, Nevşehir, Turkey. 4Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. Corresponding author: *E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Turkey shows a notable diversity of habitats, with significant variations in altitude, rainfall, temperature, topography and geological history, which is reflected in its richness of biodiversity. Although there are quite a number of publications on the freshwater fish taxonomy, the data set for endemic freshwater fish as assemblages are poor. According to recent findings, a total of 194 endemic freshwater fish species are now recognised within the political boundaries of Turkey. Endemic fish consist of 47.4% of the Turkish freshwater ichthyofauna (409 species). At the family level, the Cyprinidae comprises the greatest number of endemic species (110 species; 56.7% of the endemic species), followed by the Nemacheilidae (31 species; 16.0%), Cyprinodontidae (18 species; 9.3%), Cobitidae (14 species; 7.2%), Salmonidae (12 species; 6.2%), Gobiidae (7 species; 3.6%), Petromyzontidae (1 species; 0.5%) and Clupeidae (1 species; 0.5%). A total of 143 species (73.71%) are found within a single basin. Considering species diversity, the Konya endorheic basin (64.10%) is the richest in endemics, followed by Burdur (52.38%), Büyük Menderes (40.28%), Van Gölü (38.46%) and Antalya (34.00%).