Kingdom Animalia Order Cypriniformes Genus Oxynoemacheilus Higher classification Nemacheilus | Phylum Chordata Family Nemacheilidae Scientific name Nemacheilus angorae Rank Species | |
Similar Oxynoemacheilus, Nemacheilus, Cypriniformes, Nemacheilidae, Hillstream loach | ||
Angora loach (Oxynoemacheilus angorae) is a species of ray-finned fish in the Nemacheilidae family. 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.
It is threatened by water abstraction, pollution and dam construction. The future threats in the southern range are increasing water abstraction and droughts. In the northern range, it is already and will continue to be threatened by massive development of hydropower dams. Although IUCN listed it as Data Deficient in 1996, it nows lists the species as Least Concern due to its widespread abundance. The report says it is so abundant that even a 30% decrease would not endanger the species. Nonetheless, the exact population is unknown and is not known to be fished for commercial use.