''Garra barreimiae'', the Oman garra, is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

in the family

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

. It is found in the mountains of northern

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Most populations inhabit

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s, streams, pools and springs, but one population which lives in a cave system, is known as Omani blind cave fish, and has lost its sight and pigmentation. The only other cave fish in the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...

is the Tawi Atair garra (''G. dunsirei''), but it has normal eyes.Romero, A., editor (2001). The Biology of Hypogean Fishes, p. 17. Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes.

Taxonomy

The Oman garra was first described in 1956 by the American zoologist

Henry Weed Fowler Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and worked as ...

and the Israeli zoologist

Heinz Steinitz Heinz Steinitz (April 26, 1909 – April 28, 1971, he, היינץ שטייניץ) was a senior Israeli marine biologist and herpetologist, Professor and Chairman of the Department of zoology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He laid the ...

as ''Garra barreimiae''. The following

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognised: * ''G. b. barreimiae'' Fowler & Steinitz, 1956 * ''G. b. gallagheri'' Krupp, 1988 * ''G. b. shawkahensis'' Banister & Clarke, 1977 * ''G. b. wurayahi'' Khalaf, 2009 The blind cave form has been found to be little different from the sighted form genetically. The subspecies are generally limited to different watersheds.

Description

''Garra barreimiae'' is a small, slender fish, somewhat flattened on the underside. It grows to a length of about . The head is wedge-shaped and has a suction plate on the lower jaw and a blunt snout. This fish is a fairly dark colour and is speckled; it has a paler transverse band just behind the head. An unpigmented form with fewer scales and no external eyes has been found living underground. Juveniles of this form are sighted at first, but as they get older, skin grows over their eyes.

Distribution and habitat

This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the mountainous eastern region of the

and northern region of

. It is often the most common fish species in its range. In both countries it is present on the western side of the mountains and in Oman, it is also present on the east side. This fish typically lives in

s, in gravel or rock pools, in springs, in small streams and in slow-moving water. The blind form is only known from the Hoti cave systems in the Al Hamra region of the Jebel Akhdar Mountains in Oman.

Ecology

''Garra barreimiae'' is a shoaling fish and is quick to dart away if it feels threatened. It is a hardy and adaptable species. If the water body in which it is living is starting to dry up, it may be able to survive buried in wet gravel. It has also been known to skitter across wet rocks in order to move to another pool, and to make its way up steep wet rocks and beside waterfalls. It can tolerate

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water and a wide range of temperatures. The fish feeds on the bottom in the manner of a

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

. It eats

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

, which it scrapes off rocks, and detritus. Examination of the stomach contents of one individual showed that it had consumed both single-celled and filamentous algae,

rotifer The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

s and small

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s. Breeding takes place when there is sufficient water and may be sparked by a downpour. The tiny eggs are deposited among the gravel.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q305582 Garra Fauna of the Middle East Cave fish Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler Taxa named by Heinz Steinitz Fish described in 1956 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot