Capoeta kosswigi Karaman, 1969 a junior synonym of Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Abstract

Capoeta kosswigi was described from Lake Van basin, Turkey, being close to C. damascina and C. umbla. It is distinguishedfrom them by a pointed snout and a small horseshoe-shaped mouth, and differing from C. damascina by having smaller scales, and fromthe C. umbla by processing larger scales. In this study, we tested the suggested synonymy hypothesis of C. kosswigi and C. damascinaby comparing the morphometric and meristic data. The results revealed that all morphometric and meristic characters of C. kosswigioverlap with those of C. damascina. In line with previous molecular studies that COI, cytb and 16S rDNA genes of C. kosswigi andC. damascina are identical, therefore, without having any diagnostic characters, we treat C. kosswigi as a junior synonym of C. damascina.