A note on the status of Paracobitis basharensis Freyhof, Esmaeili, Sayyadzadeh, Geiger 2014. Based on the original description and pictures, Paracobitis basharensis might be wrongly placed in Paracobitis and possibly be within Turcinoemacheilus. We contacted Hamidreza Esmaeili, the contact person of the Zoological Museum of Shiraz University, Collection of Biology Department (ZM-CBSU), on several occasions to access the type material deposited in their collection, but without success. Even when we offered to send someone to examine the material and/or obtain higher-quality pictures of the deposited samples to include them in our study, our request was rejected. The type locality of this species (Beshar River) has been sampled on numerous occasions by our team and others, but no other species of loaches have been obtained other than the Turcinoemacheilus species. The habitat at the type locality is well preserved, and the fishes inhabiting it are caught in relatively high numbers. We believe we would have caught them if any Paracobitis species had been there. In addition, Saber Vatandoust, a collaborator of Omid Tabiee, is recognized in the original description as the collector of the type material of this species, and he cannot confirm catching any Paracobitis species on that occasion. A morphological character which makes us believe it might be in the wrong genus is the position of the pelvic fin in front of the dorsal-fin origin, which is diagnostic for Turcinoemacheilus. The only morphological difference we observed between the P. basharensis and Turcinoemacheilus species, based on the original description pictures, is the presence of an adipose keel on the caudal peduncle. This might be an abnormal specimen, observed sometimes in other specimens, or it might have a seasonal character. This might be a lipid reserve developed during the nutrient-rich season. Due to these complications, we suggest to our colleagues that they consider depositing the type material used in taxonomic works in serious public collections, preferably in multiple institutions, where access to the samples is not limited for other colleagues working in the field.

Published as part of Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash, Vatandoust, Saber, Doadrio, Ignacio & Ghanavi, Hamid Reza, 2023, Integrative Taxonomy of Turcinoemacheilus Bănărescu & Nalbant, 1964 in West Asia with the Description of Three New Species (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae), pp. 1-25 in Diversity 15 (1222) on page 21, DOI: 10.3390/d15121222, http://zenodo.org/record/15118745