Turkish University Discovers New Fish Species

Fish lovers around the globe have a reason to rejoice! A new species of fish, belonging to the salmonidae family, was discovered recently in the waters of Turkey. The new species, named Salmo kottelati, was discovered by a group of scientists from the Faculty of Fisheries, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, in Turkey.

This new species differs from its other genetic siblings in a few key factors. Mainly, it has a larger mouth and maxilla, and fewer parr marks along the lateral line. In addition, its total length is said to be a mere 21 centimetres. In comparison, the largest fish of the salmonid family can reach the size of up to two metres in length. It has been, so far, found exclusively in cold waters with moderate current flows.

The new species has been named after Maurice Kottelati, who is known to have been a major contributor in amassing knowledge about fish fauna in Asia and Europe. The genes Salmo is know to be widely spread and is commonly found among the rivers and streams of the Black, Marmara, Aegean as well as the Mediterranean seas. There are a dozen species of fish that belong under this particular gene.

Salmonids are generally migratory or anadromous by nature; they migrate to warmer conditions (from mountain lakes to seas) for the purpose of reproduction. In addition, they are also predatory by nature. They usually feed on small aquatic insects or fishes. For the purpose of better understanding the varied diversity in fish fauna that can be found specifically in Turkey, researchers collected samples from over 200 localities across the country between the years 2004 to 2014.

The discovery of this new species provides key data which may help future ecologists, biologists and scientists in general to track, record and hopefully discover new, unknown species of flora and fauna. In an age of alarming animal extinction rates, it is indeed encouraging to discover the presence of new species.