''Eidinemacheilus smithi'', also known as the Zagroz blind loach, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of C ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Nemacheilidae The Nemacheilidae, or stone loaches, are a family of cypriniform fishes that inhabit stream environments, mostly in Eurasia, with one genus, ''Afronemacheilus'' found in Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populo ...

. This

cavefish Cavefish or cave fish is a generic term for fresh and brackish water fish adapted to life in caves and other underground habitats. Related terms are subterranean fish, troglomorphic fish, troglobitic fish, stygobitic fish, phreatic fish and hypog ...

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 an

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

in the

Karun River The Karun ( fa, کارون, ) is the Iranian river with the highest water flow, and its only navigable river. It is long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as t ...

drainage in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوه‌های زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgro ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

.Segherloo, I.H., Ghaedrahmati, N. & Freyhof, J. (2021 ): ''Eidinemacheilus'', a new generic name for ''Noemacheilus smithi'' Greenwood (Teleostei; Nemacheilidae). ''Zootaxa, 4147 (4): 466-476.'' It is named after British explorer Anthony Smith, who collected the type specimens. There are three other known cavefish species in Iran: ''

Garra lorestanensis ''Garra lorestanensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Garra'' Known from the Loven Cave, the natural outlet of a subterranean limestone system of the Zagros Mountains in the Ab-e Sirum or Ab-e Serum Valley near Tang-e Haft railw ...

'', '' G. tashanensis'' and '' G. typhlops''.

References

Cave fish Nemacheilidae Fauna of Iran Fish described in 1976 Endemic fauna of Iran Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Nemacheilidae-stub