The Hula Valley is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to its draining. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Syrian-African Rift Valley between Africa, Europe, and Asia.
The wildlife of Jordan includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Although much of the country is desert, it has several geographic regions, each with a diversity of plants and animals adapted to their own particular habitats. Fossil finds show that in Palaeolithic times, the region had Syrian brown bears, Asiatic lions, zebras, Asian elephants, and rhinoceroses, but these species are all now extinct in this region.
Oxynoemacheilus bureschi, the Struma stone loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the stone loach family (Nemacheilidae). It is found in the Struma, Vardar and Nestos river basins Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, and Serbia Its natural habitat is rivers, preferring larger streams with fast currents, especially in the middle. It cannot survive where the rivers have been canalised and it is threatened by habitat loss. The specific name honours the Bulgarian ichthyologist Ivan Buresh, who was able to influence the Bulgarian monarch Boris III to allow Drensky to collect specimens in Bulgaria.
Garra nana is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Israel, Jordan and Syria. Its natural habitats are freshwater rivers, lakes and ponds of the Barada and Jordan River drainage basins, as well as the Kishon River. This bottom-dwelling fish is often overlooked, as it is small and prefers to hide among stones and water plants. It is an omnivore which feeds on aufwuchs. The species was previously placed in the genus Hemigrammocapoeta. It reaches up to 12 cm (4.7 in) in total length.
Oxynoemacheilus leontinae is a species of stone loach found in the Jordan and Litani river systems in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. Its natural habitat is slow moving rivers.
Oxynoemacheilus galilaeus also known as the Galilean Stone Loach is a species of stone loach in the family Nemacheilidae native to Israel and Syria.
Tristramella simonis, the short jaw tristramella, is a vulnerable species of cichlid fish from the Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel and Syria, with introduced populations in the Nahr al-Kabir and Orontes basins in Syria. It prefers waters with little or no movement. Along with other tilapias, T. simonis is commonly caught as a food fish in parts of its range and it is commercially important in Lake Tiberias.
Oxynoemacheilus namiri, the Levantine loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This species is common and widespread in the drainage system of the Orontes in Turkey and Syria, as well as in coastal streams in Syria south of the border with Lebanon, where it can be found in springs, reservoirs, streams and rivers.
Oxynoemacheilus hamwii, the Orontes sportive loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This species is found in the headwaters of the Orontes River but is now restricted to three streams in the Turkish part of the drainage, two joining the lower Orontes in Turket and the third flowing into the Afrin River in Syria, and has been extirpated from Syria. It was described as being very common in the late 20th century, but it is sensitive to pollution and requires clear, flowing streams over mud or gravel. The drainage of the Orontes is heavily used by humans and lower rainfall in the region caused by climate change may exacerbate the threat to this species by increasing the amount of water taken from the streams by humans and by lowering the water table.
Oxynoemacheilus bergianus, the Kura sportive loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This species is found in Lake Urumiyeh and Namak Lake basins in Iran, in the southern Caspian basin from Kura east to the Sefid-Rud drainage. It can also be found in the headwaters of Tigris in Turkey, Iraq and in Karoun, Iran as well as those of the Euphrates in Turkey and possibly in Syria and Iraq. It lives in fast flowing streams and rivers with gravel and rocky substrates and does not tolerate impoundments, dam construction having been identified as a major potential threat to this species.
The Kura loach, also known as the Caspian sportive loach, is an Asian species of freshwater fish, occurring in the drainage basin of the Kura in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iran. It prefers fast to very fast flowing streams and rivers which have a gravel or rocky substrate and is most frequently recorded among riffles and rapids in the middle of stream. It is widespread and locally abundant but populations have been lost due to the construction of dams for hydroelectric power and for abstraction. The specific bane honours the German naturalist Johann Friedrich von Brandt (1802-1879), who provided Karl Kessler with most of the specimens he used to describe this species.
Oxynoemacheilus argyrogramma, the two-spot loach is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This species is found in the drainage of the Queiq River in Syria and Turkey, and the upper Euphrates drainage in Turkey and possibly in this drainage in Syria and Iraq. It has almost been extirpated from the Queiq as this river has virtually dried out but it remains abundant in the Euphrates. This species can be found in a wide range of habitats as long as there is a moderately fast current from small upland streams to banks of large rivers. It can also occur in stagnant water bodies such as reservoirs. It is threatened by water abstraction, lowering rainfall due to climate change and the construction of dams. The economic development of the area where this species occurs exacerbates these threats. Freyhof and Özuluǧ published a paper in 2017 that argued that Oxynoemacheilus euphraticus was a valid species and not a synonym of O. argyrogramma.
Oxynoemacheilus frenatus, the banded Tigris loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This species is widespread in the upper drainage basin of the Tigris in Turkey, Syria and Iraq where it can be locally very common. It can be found in habitats varying from streams with a moderately fast current to near standing waters in springs, streams and rivers which have beds of gravel or mud.
Oxynoemacheilus germencicus, the Carian loach, is a species of Cypriniformes fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. It is known only from the Büyük Menderes River and lower Gediz River in western Anatolia, it probably also occurred in the Kücük Menderes, a river which sits between the Büyük Menderes and Gediz, and has been extirpated from that river by pollution and abstraction. It remains widespread and locally abundant in the other two rivers but the populations have declined and the species is threatened by climate change reducing rainfall in the area and human activities such as damming and water abstraction as well as pollution>
Oxynoemacheilus panthera, the tiger loach or the Damascus loach, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Oxynoemacheilus. It occurs in only two streams, the Nahr Baradá and Nahr al-A‘waj in the Damascus basin in Syria. It is thought that over 90% of the populations of this species of stone loach have been lost due to water abstraction and the drying up of its native watercourses, exacerbated by lower rainfall due to climate change.
Oxynoemacheilus tigris, the Tigris loach or Halap loach, is a species of stone loach from the genus Oxynoemacheilus. This critically endangered species is endemic to the Queiq River in Turkey where it occurs ins a short stretch of stream between two reservoirs. It formerly occurred in Syria but it has been local extinction from the Syrian portion of the Queiq. This species is threatened by water abstraction and the increased frequency of droughts caused by climate change, most of the Queiq has already been desiccated. It is, however, abundant in the area it is known from where it can be found in reaches of gravel or mud substrate with moderately fast flowing to near standing water.
Angora loach is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is found in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. It is found in Sea of Marmara and Black Sea from Simav east to Kızılırmak River drainages and drainages of Ilgin, Lake Akşehir and Lake Eber.
Oxynoemacheilus is a genus of fish in the family Nemacheilidae found in Europe and Western Asia.
Oxynoemacheilus atili, the Lake Beyşehir loach, is a species of stone loach from the genus Oxynoemacheilus. It is endemic to Turkey being found only in the drainage basin of Lake Beyşehir in Central Anatolia, where it occurs in all the streams and in the Manavgat drainage in Mediterranean basin.
Oxynoemacheilus banarescui, the Paphlagonian sportive loach, is a species of stone loach from the genus Oxynoemacheilus. It is endemic to the Filyos River in northern Turkey where it is currently widespread and abundant. However, the population appears to be declining and the causes of this are thought to be increased development of the drainage basin and the construction of new dams. This species prefers fast flowing streams with rocky or gravel bottoms and cannot survive in reservoirs, although the dams on the Fliyos are for flood control and not to create reservoirs and their impact on this species is unknown. The specific name honours Petre Mihai Bănărescu (1921-2009), a Romanian ichthyologist.
