Descriptive osteology of Paracobitis persa Freyhof, Esmaeili, Sayyadzadeh & Geiger, 2014, an endemic species from Kor River basin of Iran

This study was carried out to provide a detailed osteological structure of the newly described crested loach, Paracobitis persa . For this purpose, ten specimens were collected from the Malsosjan spring, in the Kor River basin and fixed in 5% buffered formalin. After clearing and staining, their skeletal structure was examined. The results were compared to the other members of the family Nemacheilidae particularly P. hyrcanica and P. iranica . Based on the results, P. persa can be distinguished from other members of this family by a combination of characters, including having lacking sesamoid ossifications, having six hypurals, a triangular-shaped lateral ethmoid with pointed ends, alveolar bony capsule, no contact between retroarticular and dental, lack of the pre-ethmoid-I and basibrancial-4.