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  • Glyptothorax kurdistanicus
  • Glyptothorax kurdistanicus
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Scientific Name Glyptothorax kurdistanicus  (Berg, 1931)
Common Name
Type Locality Garmab, southeast of Serdesht, at Little Zab (36°N), River Baneh basin, Iran, elevation 1500 meters.
Pronunciation Gleep toe thor axe
Etymology The generic name comes from the Greek glyptos, meaning carved, and thorax, meaning breastplate (or the part of the body covered by it), in reference to the folds of skin comprising the thoracic adhesive apparatus. 
Hop to next section Species Information
Identification Sisorid catfishes of the genus Glyptothorax Blyth are benthic inhabitants of torrential waters of rivers and streams in montane and submontane parts of tropical Asia. The members of the genus are adapted to attach themselves to rocks and boulders against strong currents by means of a thoracic adhesive apparatus comprising grooves and folded pleats of skin parallel or oblique to the longitudinal axis of the body. The genus has a wide distribution, ranging from Turkey and Syria in the west, to India and China in the east, and extending further southeastward to Indonesia. With 84 nominal species, Glyptothorax are the most speciose genus of catfishes in Asia (Eschmeyer et al., 1998, Ng, 2005); 67 species were treated as valid by Thomson & Page (2006).
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution Asia: Kurdistan, Iran.
Euphrates, Tigris, Little Zab (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category Data Deficient, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2013.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Breeding Unreported in the aquarium.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Izvestija Akademii Nauk Soiuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, VII Serija, Otdelenie Matematischeskikh i Estestvennykh Nauk, Moskwa, Leningrad = Bulletin de l'Académie des Sciences de 'Union des Républiques Soviétiques Socialistes, VII Série, Classe des Sciences Mathématiques et Naturelles 1931, pp 1267, Pl. 1 (fig. 2); Fig. 1.
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Last Update 2023 Oct 15 00:42 (species record created: 2015 Mar 10 14:50)