Study on biological characteristics of hot springs fishes with emphasis on identification of Aphanius ginaonis species as distinctive species in Iran

Iran, with a wide geographical distribution, has numerous habitats and has high ecological importance. Among the ecological studies, studies on the inland waters of Iran, including the species of the hot springs fishes including Aphanius species, are scarce. Understanding the biology as well as the ecology of different aquatic species in Iran can provide useful information for the effective management of fish stocks in the future. Distribution of Aphanius species is restricted to the central, south and southwestern parts of Iran. This type of distribution of Aphanius species indicates the geological relationship of different basins to each other in past times, and on the other hand, basin separation may limit gene exchange between populations and cause inter populated differences in evolutionary history of this species. Therefore, study of the distribution of these fishes can be used for estimation evaluation and conservation rate of the stocks. This paper discusses various aspects of bio-characteristic of hot springs fishes including their use and economic importance and geographical distribution of carp family in the world as well as Aphanius species with emphasis on identification of A. ginaonis species as the only distinctive species in Iran.