Karyotype of River Loach Turcinoemacheilus kosswigi Banarescu and Nalbant, 1964 (Cypriniformes, Balitoridae) from the Euphrates River, Turkey

Abstract

Karyotype of river loach Turcinoemacheilus kosswigi from the Euphrates River, Turkey was investigated using conventional Giemsa-staining and C-banding. Two females and two males were analyzed. Diploid chromosome number was 2n= 50 in all specimens. The karyotype consisted of four pairs of metacentric (m), seven pairs of submeta (sm)-subtelocentric (st) and 14 pairs of acrocentric (a) chromosomes, the number of chromosome was NF= 72. No heteromorphic sex chromosomes were found. C-banded positive constitutive heterochromatin was found in the entire short arms of a pair of large m-sm chromosomes and in the centromeres of several chromosome pairs though to a lesser extent. Karyotype and C-banding patterns of T. kosswigi were compared with those of other loaches.