| Capoeta damascina | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Barbinae |
| Genus: | Capoeta |
| Species: | C. damascina |
| Binomial name | |
| Capoeta damascina (Valenciennes, 1842) [2] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Capoeta damascina, the Levantine scraper [1] or Mesopotamian barb, is a species of cyprinid fish from the Near East region. It is reported from Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey. [1] [3]
It is a bottom feeding fish, up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) long but typically about 30 cm (1 ft), and it lives in lakes as well as both fast and slow-moving streams, and both in clear and muddy waters. It is said to have tasteless flesh and toxic eggs. [2] It has been recorded hybridising with Carasobarbus canis but these hybrids are sterile. [4]