Phoxinellus alepidotus

Phoxinellus alepidotus
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Leuciscidae
Genus:	Phoxinellus
Species:	P. alepidotus
Binomial name
Phoxinellus alepidotus Heckel, 1843
Synonyms
Paraphoxinus alepidotus (Heckel, 1843))

Phoxinellus alepidotus, the Dinaric minnow, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. This species is found in Southeastern Europe, in the Western Balkans.

Taxonomy

Phoxinellus alepidotus was first formally described in 1843 by the Austrian ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel witth its type locality given as Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This species is the type species of the genus Phoxinellus, being designated as the type species ny Pieter Bleeker in 1859 or 1860. The genus Phoxineluus is classified within the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae.

Etymology

Phoxinellus alepidotus is the type species of the genus Phoxinellus, this name is a diminutive of Phoxinus, the genus of the "true" Eurasian minnows. It is thought that Heckel may have coined this name due to the small size of P. alepidotus when compared to Cyprinus phoxinus. The specific name, alepidotus, means "without scales", a reference to the absnce of scales on the body of these fishes, apart from those along the lateral line.

Description

Phoxinellus alepidotus has an elongate body with a maximum standard length of 14.5 cm (5.7 in). The body has no scales except for the scales along the lateral line which has between 11 and 42 pored scales along its length. The lateral line ends between the pelvic and anal fins. The mouth is subterminal and the caudal fin is forked.

Distribution and habitat

Phoxinellus alepidotus is found in the Western Balkans in Southeastern Europe where it is found in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. It is only found in the drainage system of the Cetina in the Dinaric Karst. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been recorded in Grahovsko, Livanjsko, Glamočko and Duvanjsko poljes, these drain to the Cetina via underground karstic conduits. This species has also been introduced to Lake Blidinje, which sits in an isolated upland plateau in the basin of the Duvanjsko polje basin, and to the upper Unac River, a tributary of the Danube. It has only been reported from two small lakes in Croatia, these are Miloševo and Stipančevo in the Hrvatačko polje. These lakes are located next to one another and when flooded they merge into a single wetland. This species is found in lowland water bodies, in clear streams and in the winter and during droughts they will move into underground karstic waters.

Conservation

Phoxinellus alepidotus is classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It has a restricted range and its habitat is being degraded by many anthropogenic factors including pollution, damming, water abstraction and non-native invasive species.