Abstract
UDK: 597.551.2(497)
 Sabanejewia balcanica is a fish species that belongs to Cobitidae family and it is the endemic of the Balkan Peninsula. It is present in the tributaries of the Danube and Aegean waters. Systematics of this species has experienced certain changes that are related to the systemic instability of the entire Cobitidae family, so there has been a change in the name of the genus of this species. The genus Sabanejewia was separated from the genus Cobitis in the last century, but this name was generally used much later. According to data of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, this species is still not endangered, but is assigned a status of least concern (LC). Sabanejewia balcanica is in the Annex II of the Habitats Directive and Annex III of the Bern Convention which basically require the protection of this species and its habitats. In the proposal to create a red list of fauna of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has been concluded that there is not enough information on the population characteristics of this species. The aim of this article is to present data on exploration of Sabanejewia balcanica in the Balkan area as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, thereby contributing to the determination of its status of vulnerability and protection of its natural habitats.
Highlights
Sabanejewia balcanica (Karaman, 1922) or Balkan golden loach is a fish species which belongs to family Cobitidae Swainson, 1838 and it inhabits the Balkan area
Kottelat (1997) considers Sabanejewia balcanica (Karaman, 1922), S. bulgarica (Drensky, 1928), S. larvata (Filippi, 1859) and S. romanica (Bācescu, 1943) valid species of this genus in Europe, including the former USSR countries.The use of karyology and genetic methods has contributed to progress in the systematics of this genus (Vasil’eva & Ráb, 1992; Perdices et al, 2003)
Bācescu (1943) firstly thought that Cobitis balcanica is a subspecies of species Cobitis aurata, at the same time describing Cobitis caspia romanica as a new subspecies, and concluded that Cobitis bulgarica is a separate species
Summary
According to the available data, several species and subspecies belong to the genus Sabanejewia which have been described by different authors on the basis of morphometric characteristics (Nalbant, 1957; Karaman, 1963;Vasil’eva & Vasil’ev, 1988;Witkowski, 1994; Economidis & Nalbant, 1996 etc.). Kottelat (1997) considers Sabanejewia balcanica (Karaman, 1922), S. bulgarica (Drensky, 1928), S. larvata (Filippi, 1859) and S. romanica (Bācescu, 1943) valid species of this genus in Europe, including the former USSR countries.The use of karyology and genetic methods has contributed to progress in the systematics of this genus (Vasil’eva & Ráb, 1992; Perdices et al, 2003). Vladykov (1929) included the species Cobitis caspia, Cobitis caucasica and Cobitis larvata into the new genus Sabanejewia which was not accepted as subgenus until 1970 This author considered the species Cobitis aurata and Cobitis balcanica as separate species, and species Cobitis montana only as a synonym of Cobitis balcanica. Vasil’eva & Vasil’ev (1988) described the new species named Sabanejewia aurata cubanica of the pool Kuban river in Russia These authors concluded that Sabanejewia bulgarica is a separate species, and that Sabanejewia balcanica, S. vallachica and S. radnensis are subspecies within the species Sabanejewia aurata. Vasil’eva & Ráb (1992) concluded that the karyotype of the subspecies Sabanejewia aurata balcanica from the Danube basin is different from Sabanejewia aurata aurata and Sabanejewia aurata cubanica in Russia, which led to Kottelat (1997) formulating a hypothesis that subspecies Sabanejewia aurata balcanica and Sabanejewia aurata aurata are different species which was confirmed by the molecular analyses (Boron, 2000). Witkowski (1994) described the new subspecies named Sabanejewia aurata baltica from Poland, and Kottelat (1997) questioned its validity and classified it as a synonym of Sabanejewia balcanica. Economidis & Nalbant (1996) described the two new subspecies from Greece named Sabanejewia aurata thrakica and Sabanejewia aurata doiranica. Ludwig et al (2001) presented the relationship of the Romanian subspecies based on the molecular analysis, where the heterogeneous nature of the subspecies S. balcanica balcanica was determined. Perdices et al (2003) present the molecular analysis based on mtDNA of the most European species and the subspecies of Sabanejewia
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