Capoeta caelestis Common name. Taurus scraper. Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Capoeta in Mediterranean basin by: ○ one pair of barbels / ○ 57–69 total lateral-line scales / ○ last unbranched dorsal ray weak, slender, without serrae / ○ 8½ or 9½ branched dorsal rays / ○ 16–21 gill rakers / ○ 10–13 scales rows between lateral line and dorsal origin / ○ 7–8 scales between anal origin and lateral line / ○ 23–24 circumpeduncular scales / ○ flank beige, golden or brown without small black spots, juveniles and some adults individuals with large black blotches. Size up to 340 mm SL. Distribution. Türkiye: Ilıca and Manavgat east to Göksu drainage. Habitat. Coastal streams to mountain rivers. Often sole species in a stream. Spawns in fast-flowing water in rapids and riffles. Biology. No data. Conservation status. LC. Remarks. In Ilıca and Manavgat, individuals with one pair, two pairs and three barbels occur together. These are hybrids between C. antalyensis and C. caelestis. Further reading. Küçük 2007a (distribution); Schöter et al. 2009 (description); Alwan 2010 (morphology, phylogeny); Alwan et al. 2016b (morphology, phylogeny).

Published as part of Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, GmbH, Berlin / Boston :De Gruyter on page 124, DOI: 10.1515/9783111677811, http://zenodo.org/record/17881367