A confirmed record of the European catfish Silurus glanis L., 1758 (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes: Siluridae) from the southern marshes of Iraq, with a new anatomical set of characters to separate S. glanis and S. triostegus

Investigations conducted in the southern Iraq freshwater systems allowed the authors to collect the European catfish, Silurus glanis L., 1758. These are the first confirmed records of S. glanis from the freshwater systems in Lower Mesopotamia, based on 13 adult specimens, each 325–525 mm in total length. Furthermore, a new set of anatomical characters of S. glanis and S. triostegus from Chibayish marsh area, south of Iraq, was examined to reveal similarities and differences between the two Silurus species. In addition to the traditional separation of the two species of Silurus by number of barbels, these two species can now be recognised based on a new set of morphological and osteological features.