A new minnow: Pseudophoxinus mehmeti

Pseudophoxinus is a genus of fishes belonging to the family of carps and minnows (Cyprinidae). The genus occurs in the eastern Mediterranean region, in particular in and around Anatolia.

By the way the name minnow was what early English fisherman used to describe small and insignificant fishes.

In a field survey carried out in 2014, a group of researchers from Turkey found a new species living in an isolated drainage in Burdur Province. It was named after the first author's husband, Mehmet Ekmekçi who also contributed to the studies of hydrological description and characterization, and interpretations of drainage networks and watersheds.

For the experts: Pseudophoxinus mehmeti, new cyprinid species from the Alanköy basin in south-western Turkey, is distinguished from all species of Pseudophoxinus in adjacent regions by the combination of the following characters: body slender, its length 1.3–1.5 times its depth; caudal peduncle length 1.6–2.0 times its depth; mouth almost superior, with the tip of the mouthcleft approximately level with the middle of the pupil; snout with a pointed tip, its length markedly greater than eye diameter; lateral line not complete, with 30–50 perforated scales and 48–60+2 scale rows in lateral series; 11½–13½ scale rows between lateral line and dorsal-fin origin, 3½–5½ scale rows between lateral line and anal-fin origin; dorsal-fin with 6½– 7½ branched rays; anal-fin with 6½–7½ branched rays; a distinct black epidermal stripe from eye to caudal-fin base in preserved individuals.