Distribution of endangered Italian gudgeon Romanogobio benacensis (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae, Gobioninae) with remarks on distinguishing morphological characters.

Dušan Jelić,Mišel Jelić,Ivana Šimunović,Petar Žutinić,Alexander M Naseka,Primož Zupančič

doi:10.3897/zookeys.729.20615

Abstract

Distribution data on many freshwater fish species in Croatia are scarce and species identifications are difficult, requiring further detailed studies. This paper presents a report of the Italian gudgeon Romanogobio benacensis from the Mirna River in the Istra Peninsula in Croatia, in the south-east from its previously known distribution range. The identification of R. benacensis in Croatia was supported by a morphological comparison with R. benacensis from Italy and Slovenia, the common gudgeon Gobio gobio, and the Danubian gudgeon Gobio obtusirostris from geographically close locations. A combination of character states (number of scales between anus and anal-fin origin, branched pectoral-fin rays, lateral-line scales, total, abdominal, and caudal vertebrae, and the size and number of lateral blotches) distinguishes R. benacensis from both G. gobio and G. obtusirostris. The phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial sequences of cytochrome b gene confirmed that specimens from the Mirna River belong to R. benacensis. Also, Reka River system (Adriatic Sea basin) in Slovenia is inhabited by a possibly introduced Danubian gudgeon, G. obtusirostris, and not by R. benacensis.

Highlights

The richness of Croatian freshwater ichthyofauna manifests in at least 147 native fish and lamprey species, many of which are endemic (Mrakovčić et al 2006, Jelić et al 2008, Jelić 2011b)
Telestes miloradi Bogutskaya, Zupančič, Bogut & Naseka, 2012, an endemic species whose description is based on material deposited in a museum, collected more than 100 year ago, and which had been considered extinct, was recently re-discovered in nature (Jelić and Jelić 2015). Another example is the Italian gudgeon Romanogobio benacensis (Pollini, 1816), which was firstly recorded in Croatia in 2011 (Jelić 2011a)
The Italian gudgeon was considered a subspecies of the common gudgeon Gobio gobio (Linnaeus) (Bianco and Taraborelli 1984, Bianco 1988, Pizzul et al 1993, Bănărescu et al 1999) or a valid species Gobio benacensis (Kottelat 1997, Bianco and Ketmaier 2001, 2005, Kottelat and Persat 2005)

Summary

Introduction

The richness of Croatian freshwater ichthyofauna manifests in at least 147 native fish and lamprey species, many of which are endemic (Mrakovčić et al 2006, Jelić et al 2008, Jelić 2011b). Telestes miloradi Bogutskaya, Zupančič, Bogut & Naseka, 2012, an endemic species whose description is based on material deposited in a museum, collected more than 100 year ago, and which had been considered extinct, was recently re-discovered in nature (Jelić and Jelić 2015). Another example is the Italian gudgeon Romanogobio benacensis (Pollini, 1816), which was firstly recorded in Croatia in 2011 (Jelić 2011a). The basal node in the Romanogobio clade which shows divergence between R. benacensis and the remaining subclades was not supported, preventing Bianco and Ketmaier (2005) to consider Romanogobio as a supported clade in comparison with the Gobio Cuvier clade

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