The Iranian cave barb (Iranocypris typhlops Bruun & Kaiser, 1944) is a rare and endemic species of the
family Cyprinidae known from a single locality in the Zagros Mountains, western Iran. This species is
“Vulnerable” according to the IUCN Red List and is one of the top four threatened freshwater fish species
in Iran. Yet, the taxonomic position of I. typhlopsis uncertain. We examined phylogenetic relationships of
this species with other species of the family Cyprinidae based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.
Our results show that I. typhlops is monophyletic and is sister taxon of a cluster formed by Garra rufa
(Heckel, 1843) and Garra barreimiae (Fowler & Steinitz, 1956) within a clade that includes other species
of the genus Garra. Based on previous molecular and morphological studies, as well as our new results, we
recommend that I. typhlopsshould be transferred to the genus Garra Hamilton, 1822.
