Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Van Loach (Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus), recorded as Endangered
Van Loach (Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Van Loach

Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus

Van Loach, the Van loach, is a stone loach endemic to the Lake Van basin in Eastern Turkey.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus
Recorded from
Turkey
Taxonomy
Cypriniformes · Nemacheilidae · Oxynoemacheilus

The ray-finned fish

Carps, minnows, and loaches. They lack jaw teeth and live in freshwater.

Range and habitat

Van Loach, the Van loach, is a stone loach endemic to the Lake Van basin in Eastern Turkey. In 2018, a population of Van Loach, was discovered in to live among the microbialite in Lake Van. Until then, Alburnus tarichi was thought to be the only fish to inhabit Lake Van.

GBIF currently lists 80 occurrence points. Those points follow where people logged the taxon — museum drawers and surveys included — not a closed range boundary.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

In crisis

Van Loach is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus — often a short stub, Wikidata item Q28599498 and GBIF occurrence geography. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Oxynoemacheilus tigris (Oxynoemacheilus tigris), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Oxynoemacheilus tigris

Oxynoemacheilus tigris
Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii

Quick answers

What is Van Loach?
Van Loach is a ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae (order Cypriniformes) — Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus.
What is the conservation status of Van Loach?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Van Loach live?
Van Loach, the Van loach, is a stone loach endemic to the Lake Van basin in Eastern Turkey.
Why is Van Loach in crisis?
In 2018, a population of Van Loach, was discovered in to live among the microbialite in Lake Van.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Oxynoemacheilus ercisianus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Van Loach a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.