Freshwater fishes of Iraq: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023 Author Çiçek, Erdoğan Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Sciences, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, Nevşehir, Türkiye Author Jawad, Laith School of Environmental and Animal Sciences, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand Author Eagderi, Soheil Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Author Esmaeili, Hamid Reza Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory, Zoology Section, Department of Biology, School of Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran Author Mouludi-Saleh, Atta Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Author Sungur, Sevil Health Services Vocational School, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, Nevşehir, Türkiye Author Fricke, Ronald Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany text Zootaxa 2023 2023-10-17 5357 1 1 49 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5357.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5357.1.1 1175-5326 10012543 7CDE221A-1E73-416D-A984-23E64D9451A6 Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 [I]—Eastern mosquitofish Taxonomy. Original description: Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859: 390 [Palatka, eastern Florida, (Palatka, eastern Florida and Charleston, South Carolina ), USA ; lectotype : ANSP 6976; lectotype selected by Huber (2019: 64)].— Iraq synonyms: None.—Revisions: Rauchenberger (1989: 3) .—Illustration: McEachran & Fechhelm (1998: 924 , fig.); Esmaeili (2021: 313 , fig. 17.18). Status in Iraq . First record from Iraq by the government of Iraq during 1950s to combat malaria); confirmed by Jawad (2003) ; Al-Faisal et al . (2014).—Iraq materials: Fish Collection of the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources, College of Agriculture, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq; Fish collection at the Marine Science Centre, University of Basrah, Basrah, Iraq. Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq : Widespread all basins of Iraq .—General distribution: North America: Atlantic and Gulf Coast drainages, eastern USA ; widely introduced elsewhere for mosquito control.—Habitat: This species often occurs in shallow, often stagnant ponds and the shallow edges of lakes and streams where predatory fishes are largely absent and temperatures are high. Freshwater, brackish. Economic importance. No commercial importance. Reasons of introduction. Bio-control: to prevent eutrophication, aquatic plants, and pest control. Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).