Mastacembelus simack, the valid name of the Mesopotamian spiny eel (Teleostei: Mastacembelidae) Author Kottelat, Maurice text Zootaxa 2022 2022-07-08 5162 4 446 450 journal article 93670 10.11646/zootaxa.5162.4.9 128321bd-a7ea-413a-a233-9f52f34c31f0 1175-5326 6810548 60B4E3D4-543A-4B2A-A6C4-E26494C1C013 Rhynchobdella haleppensis Rhynchobdella haleppensis Bloch , in Schneider, 1801: 480 is based on Gronovius (1763: 132 [n. 402], pl. 8a fig. 1), which itself includes reference to Russell (1756) . I designate here the specimen model of plate 12 figure 2 in A. Russell (1756) as lectotype and this makes R. haleppensis a junior objective synonym of O. simack . Mastacembelus aleppensis of Günther (1861: 541) is an unjustified emendation of Rhynchobdella haleppensis Bloch , in Schneider, 1801 .