Acanthobrama orontis

Q: Can you eat Acanthobrama orontis?

A small freshwater bream from the Orontes River drainage; not commercially consumed. Edible but too bony and small for widespread culinary use; occasionally taken in local artisanal fisheries.

Q: How big does Acanthobrama orontis get?

Acanthobrama orontis can grow up to 17.600000381469727 cm long and weigh 0.06 kg.

Q: Where is Acanthobrama orontis found?

Restricted to the Orontes River basin flowing through Syria, Lebanon, and southern Turkey, draining to the northeastern Mediterranean. Inhabits clear upland stream reaches and lacustrine areas including the Homs Lake (Qattinah) in Syria. The Orontes River drainage in Syria and Lebanon, including tributaries. Inhabits rivers and streams with sandy to gravelly substrates in a unique Levantine freshwater biogeographical zone.

Q: What family does Acanthobrama orontis belong to?

Acanthobrama orontis (Acanthobrama orontis) belongs to the family Leuciscidae in the order Cypriniformes (Carps and minnows).

Abstract

Levantine fresh waters host an unusually high proportion of endemic fishes, and Acanthobrama orontis is one of them: it is confined to the Orontes basin of Syria, Lebanon and southern Turkey, including Lake Homs (Qattinah). The small bream reaches 17.6 cm and about 60 grams, keeping to clear upland stream reaches and lacustrine waters over sandy to gravelly beds. Pale silvery to whitish flanks shade to a faint greenish-olive back, the lightly pigmented scale margins giving a delicate textured pattern; the belly is white and the fins clear. Too small and bony for wider culinary use, it appears only occasionally in local artisanal catches. It belongs to the family Leuciscidae, order Cypriniformes.