Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 103, July 2013, pp. 1-25. | Page 5

5

dark spot at the bases of each of the middle 4-5 dorsal fin rays. In some specimens the dorsal fin is orange with yellow posterior rays. The pectoral, dorsal and caudal fin rays may be olive to black rather than yellow or orange. The iris is bright yellow, orange or red (Coad, 2013). There is variation in colouration. Some fish are pale while others are very dark; the spots on the dorsal fin may extend two-thirds of the way up the fin rather than being restricted to the base; and the flanks may not be mottled. Fish from muddy water are a sickly grey with the body mottled and the lower caudal lobe dark. Their colour darkens and becomes brighter after immersion in ice water. Fish from deep in qanats are very pale (Coad, 2013).

The newly discovered Palestine Doctor Fish subspecies Garra rufa wadiqana Khalaf, 2013 at Ain Al Basa Spring, Wadi Qana Nature Reserve, Salfit Governorate, State of Palestine. Photo by: Ola Mostafa Khalaf. 08.07.2013. http://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/9500646671/

Size
Garra rufa attains 24 cm total length in the Tigris River in Iraq. Reaches 15.9 cm, over 17 cm according to Heckel (1843). Fish up to 18.5 cm total length are known from Khuzestan, Iran (Coad, 2013). The Palestinian subspecies Garra rufa wadiqana Khalaf, 2013 is much smaller and attains a measured length of 5-12 cm.

Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 103 – July 2013