This study was carried out to provide a detailed osteological structure of the newly described crested loach, Paracobitis persa. For this purpose, ten specimens were collected from the Malsosjan spring, in the Kor River basin and fixed in 5% buffered formalin. After clearing and staining, their skeletal structure was examined. The results were compared to the other members of the family Nemacheilidae particularly P. hyrcanica and P. iranica. Based on the results, P. persa can be distinguished from other members of this family by a combination of characters, including having lacking sesamoid ossifications, having six hypurals, a triangular-shaped lateral ethmoid with pointed ends, alveolar bony capsule, no contact between retroarticular and dental, lack of the pre-ethmoid-I and basibrancial-4.

Among cyprinid family, little information is available about the phylogenetic relationships of the members of genus Garra in Iran. The structure of caudal skeleton as a valuable source in taxonomic studies of fishes can help to determine their systematic position. Hence, this study was conducted to compare the osteological features of caudal fin skeleton and reconstructing phylogenetic tree of the Iranian members of genus Garra. For this purpose, five specimens of every selected (except Iran blind carp with two specimens from each morphotype) taxon were cleared and stained to examine the osteological characteristics of their caudal fin skeleton. Also, Kura barbel (Barbus cyri) and Barzam (Capoeta trutta) were designed as outgroup. The results showed that members of Garra constitute a monophyletic group. The results revealed that the caudal skeleton features cannot discriminate the members of genus Garra at the level of species because of small number of extractable characters and their states.