Research Article |
Corresponding author: Nina G. Bogutskaya ( ninabogutskaya@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Maria Elina Bichuette
© 2019 Nina G. Bogutskaya, Harald Ahnelt.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Bogutskaya NG, Ahnelt H (2019) New data on the western Balkan leuciscids Alburnoides and Alburnus (Teleostei, Leuciscidae) from the Vjosa River, Albania. ZooKeys 870: 101-115. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.870.36235
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The first voucher-confirmed record of Alburnus scoranza and the first morphological description of Alburnoides for the Vjosa River system in Albania are reported with a brief discussion of the diagnostic morphological traits and taxonomic assignment of both species.
Biodiversity, freshwater fish, range extension, southeastern Adriatic ecoregion
The Vjosa River (Aoos in Greece) belongs to the South Adriatic-Ionian zoogeographical division of
Herein, we report the first voucher-confirmed records of Alburnoides based on a historical sample and the Scoranza bleak Alburnus scoranza Bonaparte, 1845 present in the middle and lower part of the Vjosa River drainage in Albania; we also present first morphological data for the Albanian Vjosa populations of these two cyprinids. Their species-level identifications are discussed based on some morphological comparisons.
The Natural History Museum in Vienna (
For methods and terminology of measurements and counts, and the comparative material, see
NMW 55706, 40 specimens, SL 36.5–52.8 mm (mean 45.0 mm); Albania: Vjosa River drainage, Bença River at Bença village, ca. 6 km upstream of confluence with tVjosa (ca. 40°18'22"N, 20°1'29"E), collector(s) unknown, collected in July 1914, donated to NMW by F. Steindachner.
Based on 40 specimens except for numbers of pharyngeal teeth and measurements as specified below. Dorsal-fin branched rays 8½; anal-fin branched rays 10½-12½ (mode 11½, mean 11.3½); scales in lateral series 45–51 (mean 48.1); total lateral-line scales 43–50 (mean 46.8); later-line scales to posterior margin of hypurals 43–49 (mean 45.8); ventral keel (n = 20) from completely to 1/3 scaled, commonly ¾ scaled; mouth with a fleshy snout protruding lower jaw; gill-rakers 7–9 (mode 8, mean 8); total vertebrae 39–41 (mode 40, mean 40.4) with abdominal vertebrae 20–21 (mode 20, mean 20.5), predorsal abdominal 13–15 (mode 14, mean 13.70) and caudal vertebrae 19–21 (mode 20, mean 19.9); most frequent vertebral formulae 20+20 and 21+20; pharyngeal teeth 2.5–4.2 (n = 5). Measurements for four specimens with SL over 50 mm see Table
Morphometric data of Alburnoides cf. devolli (member of Alburnoides prespensis complex of
Alburnoides cf. devolli | NMW 55706: 1 | 55706: 2 | 55706: 3 | 55706: 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Standard length (mm) | 50.5 | 51.7 | 52.2 | 52.8 |
Percent of standard length | ||||
Body depth at dorsal-fin origin | 28.5 | 30.1 | 29.8 | 29.9 |
Body width at dorsal-fin origin | 10.9 | 13.7 | 11.9 | 13.0 |
Predorsal length | 54.6 | 55.7 | 57.2 | 56.4 |
Postdorsal length | 37.9 | 36.3 | 35.8 | 37.5 |
Prepelvic length | 49.5 | 50.7 | 50.9 | 48.7 |
Preanal length | 66.9 | 68.7 | 69.3 | 65.2 |
Pectoral – pelvic-fin origin length | 23.6 | 24.1 | 25.4 | 24.0 |
Pelvic – anal-fin origin length | 19.0 | 18.3 | 15.4 | 17.3 |
Caudal peduncle length | 23.9 | 21.8 | 22.9 | 24.3 |
Caudal peduncle depth | 12.3 | 13.2 | 12.6 | 12.3 |
Caudal peduncle width | 8.9 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 8.9 |
Dorsal-fin base length | 11.6 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 11.7 |
Dorsal-fin depth | 22.5 | 20.7 | 21.3 | 20.9 |
Anal-fin base length | 13.6 | 14.5 | 14.6 | 13.3 |
Anal-fin depth | 18.6 | 16.8 | 15.3 | 17.1 |
Pectoral fin length | 21.0 | 20.4 | 20.2 | 20.5 |
Head length | 26.4 | 26.5 | 25.6 | 24.9 |
Head depth at nape | 18.8 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 18.8 |
Head width (maximum) | 12.7 | 12.6 | 12.4 | 12.7 |
Snout length | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 7.6 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 7.6 |
Postorbital distance | 13.0 | 12.7 | 13.1 | 12.2 |
Interorbital width | 8.8 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 8.8 |
Length of upper jaw | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.9 |
Length of lower jaw | 11.3 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 11.3 |
Percent of head length | ||||
Head depth at nape | 71.1 | 72.4 | 76.0 | 73.0 |
Head width (maximum) | 48.3 | 47.3 | 49.7 | 49.9 |
Snout length | 28.7 | 28.1 | 29.4 | 30.0 |
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 28.9 | 27.2 | 29.4 | 27.4 |
Postorbital distance | 49.6 | 45.8 | 50.9 | 51.2 |
Interorbital width | 33.5 | 31.3 | 33.6 | 35.2 |
Length of upper jaw | 33.8 | 32.5 | 35.0 | 35.1 |
Length of lower jaw | 42.7 | 41.9 | 43.2 | 40.3 |
Depth of operculum | 40.3 | 39.9 | 38.2 | 40.5 |
Percent of caudal peduncle length | ||||
Depth of caudal peduncle | 51.3 | 60.7 | 53.2 | 52.0 |
Percent of interorbital distance | ||||
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 86.1 | 86.9 | 87.3 | 77.8 |
For a morphological comparison with close species (and presumptive species) see Table
Diagnostic characters for examined Alburnoides samples of North, Black, and Adriatic basins from the Rhine southwards to Vjosa in Albania. Modal values are in bold.
Identification sensu |
Our identifications, including presumed species | Total lateral line scales | Anal fin branched rays | Total vertebrae | Abdominal vertebrae | Caudal vertebrae | Predorsal abdominal vertebrae | Most frequent vertebral formulae | Most frequent states of the ventral keel development as part of keel length covered by scales (scaled) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A. bipunctatus Lineage I | A. bipunctatus, Rhine (n = 22) | 45–51; 48–50; 48.4 | 13½–17½; 14½–15½; [14.5]½ | 40–42; 41; 41.4 | 20–21; 20; 20.2 | 20–22; 21; 21.2 | 13–15; 14; 14.2 | 20+21 | ½ to ¾ scaled |
Alburnoides sp. Lineage IV | A. cf. bipunctatus, Sava, upper Danube (n = 50) | 45–54; 49–50; 48.9 | 12½–15½; 13½; [13.3]½ | 40–42; 41; 41.1 | 20–21; 20; 20.3 | 20–22; 21; 20.8 | 13–15; 14; 13.9 | 20+21, 21+21 | 2/3 scaled |
A. ohridanus Lineage VII | A. ohridanus, Ohrid L. (n = 33) | 42–46; 44; 43.9 | 10½–13½; 11½; [11.4]½ | 38–40; 39; 39.0 | 19–21; 20; 20.0 | 18–20; 19; 18.9 | 12–14; 13; 12.8 | 20+19 | ½ to ¾ scaled |
– | A. cf. ohridanus, Skadar L. (n = 19) | 42–47; 44; 44.3 | 12½–15½; 12½–13½; [12.8]½ | 39–41; 40; 39.9 | 20–21; 20; 20.3 | 19–20; 20; 19.7 | 13–14; 14; 13.8 | 20+20 | ¼ to 1/3 scaled |
A. prespensis complex Lineage IX | A. prespensis Prespa L. (n = 3) | 42–44; 43.0 | 10½–11½; 10½; [10.3]½ | 39; 39.0 | 20; 20.0 | 19; 19.0 | 13; 13.0 | 20+19 | ¾ to completely scaled |
A. prespensis complex * | A. fangfangae (n = 44) | 6–53; 48–49; 48.3 | 11½–14½; 12½; [12.1]½ | 40–42; 40–41; 40.6 | 20–21; 20; 20.5 | 19–21; 20; 20.1 | 13–14; 14; 13.8 | 20+20, 21+20, 20+21 | 1/3 to 0 scaled (=completely scaleless) |
A. prespensis complex * | A. devolli (n = 15) | 44–48; 47; 46.2 | 11½–13½; 12½; [12.1]½ | 40–41; 40; 40.3 | 20–21; 20; 20.5 | 19–20; 20; 19.8 | 12–13; 13; 12.7 | 20+20 | ¾ to completely scaled |
A. prespensis complex Lineage VIII | A. cf. devolli Vjosa (NMW 55760, n = 40) | 43–50; 44–49; 46.8 | 10½–12½; 11½; [11.3]½ | 39–41; 40; 40.4 | 20–21; 20; 20.5 | 19–21; 20; 19.9 | 13–15; 14; 13.7 | 20+20; 21+20 | ½ to ¾ scaled |
a Cluster analysis b multidimensional scaling results for Alburnoides samples of North, Black, and Adriatic basins from Rhine southwards to Vjosa in Albania based on data for counts and coded qualitative characters as in Table
Identification of the sample as Alburnoides cf. devolli is based on statistical analyses (Fig.
The body is pale fawn, the back darker than the ventral side. A distinct, black to dark grey stripe extends from the posterior margin of the orbit to the base of the caudal fin. The ventral side of the belly and of the tail is unpigmented. The lateral line is lined dorsally and ventrally by pigment along its entire length, most distinct in its anterior half to about below the origin of the dorsal fin. The fins are hyaline with tiny melanophores lining the dorsal and caudal fin rays, the anterior rays of the anal and the dorsal rays of the pectoral fins.
NMW 87654, 1 specimen, SL 70.8 mm; Albania: Vjosa River system: Selenica (40°32'N, 19°38'E); collected by Pola Expedition, Franz Steindachner, 4 July 1894. - NMW 87658-87659, 3 specimens, SL 90.8–125.6 mm; same data as NMW 87654.
Measurements see Table
Morphometric data of Alburnus scoranza from the Vjosa River at Selenize (Albania) and Montenegro (formerly considered syntypes, see text for discussion) deposited at NMW.
Alburnus scoranza | NMW 55700:1 | 55700:2 | 87654 | 87658 | 87659:1 | 87659:2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
female | female | female | male | female | male | |
Standard length (mm) | 125.6 | 93.4 | 70.8 | 90.8 | 106.9 | 98.2 |
Percent standard length | ||||||
Body depth at dorsal-fin origin | 23.3 | 18.2 | 19.9 | 24.0 | 22.9 | 23.8 |
Body width at dorsal-fin origin | 10.8 | 8.7 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 8.2 | 8.5 |
Predorsal length (% SL) | 57.8 | 57.6 | 58.4 | 54.9 | 56.0 | 54.0 |
Postdorsal length (% SL) | 35.0 | 33.0 | 30.7 | 36.2 | 33.9 | 35.0 |
Prepelvic length (% SL) | 47.7 | 48.9 | 45.7 | 43.6 | 47.1 | 46.1 |
Preanal length (% SL) | 68.5 | 69.1 | 65.0 | 64.3 | 68.2 | 66.1 |
Pectoral – pelvic-fin origin length | 24.5 | 23.6 | 23.0 | 20.9 | 23.8 | 21.1 |
Pelvic – anal-fin origin length | 21.7 | 20.8 | 19.8 | 20.1 | 21.4 | 20.0 |
Caudal peduncle length | 20.2 | 20.5 | 21.2 | 19.0 | 19.2 | 18.3 |
Caudal peduncle depth | 9.6 | 8.5 | 10.3 | 11.0 | 10.6 | 10.0 |
Caudal peduncle width | 7.0 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
Dorsal-fin base length | 10.5 | 11.7 | 12.2 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 12.5 |
Dorsal-fin depth | 16.4 | 18.8 | 20.5 | 20.9 | 19.6 | 21.1 |
Anal-fin base length | 14.8 | 14.0 | 16.3 | 20.0 | 16.2 | 18.9 |
Anal-fin depth | 12.7 | 15.3 | 13.4 | 14.9 | 12.4 | 15.5 |
Pectoral-fin length | 18.1 | 20.2 | 20.3 | 21.9 | 21.5 | 22.6 |
Pelvic-fin length | 13.8 | 15.9 | 14.4 | 17.6 | 15.8 | 18.3 |
Head length | 23.8 | 24.7 | 25.5 | 23.7 | 24.4 | 25.1 |
Head depth at nape | 15.1 | 15.5 | 16.9 | 15.6 | 15.7 | 17.7 |
Head width (maximum) | 11.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 12.5 |
Snout length | 5.3 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 7.0 |
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 6.2 | 6.7 | 7.8 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
Postorbital distance | 12.7 | 12.6 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 10.6 |
Interorbital width | 6.7 | 6.6 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
Length of upper jaw | 6.0 | 6.4 | 7.7 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 6.9 |
Length of lower jaw | 8.4 | 9.3 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 9.2 | 9.6 |
Percent head length | ||||||
Head depth at nape | 63.3 | 62.7 | 66.1 | 65.9 | 64.2 | 70.3 |
Head width (maximum) | 46.2 | 42.3 | 44.9 | 47.6 | 45.3 | 49.7 |
Snout length | 23.3 | 25.5 | 25.9 | 26.6 | 28.2 | 27.9 |
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 25.9 | 27.0 | 30.7 | 28.3 | 28.0 | 27.2 |
Postorbital distance | 50.5 | 50.8 | 46.5 | 51.2 | 46.5 | 48.5 |
Interorbital width | 28.3 | 26.5 | 28.4 | 31.0 | 30.7 | 29.6 |
Length of upper jaw | 25.1 | 25.8 | 30.0 | 30.2 | 30.8 | 27.4 |
Length of lower jaw | 35.2 | 37.5 | 37.6 | 39.5 | 37.6 | 38.3 |
Depth of operculum | 36.9 | 37.2 | 38.2 | 37.3 | 36.5 | 37.0 |
Percent caudal peduncle length | ||||||
Depth of caudal peduncle | 47.3 | 41.3 | 44.0 | 48.6 | 52.2 | 54.6 |
Percent interorbital distance | ||||||
Eye diameter (horizontal) | 91.5 | 101.6 | 107.8 | 91.3 | 91.1 | 91.9 |
Though only few specimens were examined, we may report on pronounced sexual dimorphism: the pectoral fin is longer while the pectoral-pelvic distance is shorter in males and the pectoral fin reaches behind the origin of the pelvic fin (Fig.
The dorsal part of the head and the body is dark grey. The flank and the abdomen are silvery. The fins are hyaline.
As the knowledge of the biodiversity in general and of the fish fauna in particular within the Vjosa River system in Albania is very scarce (
Recent faunal lists mentioned the occurrence of an Alburnoides Jeitteles in the Vjosa River drainage under the names either A. bipunctatus (Bloch, 1782) (
Limited mitochondrial (cytb) data of
In the publication by
Our morphological data (Table
The entire A. prespensis complex needs a thorough revision, especially with regard to the southern river drainages of Albania (
The Vjosa population of A. scoranza in Albania was documented as Alburnus alburnus (Linnaeus, 1758) by Ahnelt and Elvira (1994). The Aoos population of A. scoranza in Greece was also first reported as A. alburnus by
While A. arborella occurs in northern Adriatic basin, the distribution of A. belvica is restricted to Prespa Lake with its tributaries (
We could only morphologically compare our sample with the limited published data of A. scoranza (
So far, clarification of the taxonomic status of A. scoranza from the Vjosa still needs additional morphological and genetic data, especially from the southern river basins in Albania.
Nomenclatural note on Alburnus scoranza. The most recent publications (e.g.,
Heckel had apparently examined specimens of A. scoranza as two specimens (as Aspius scoranza Heckel, acquisition number 1843.II.18b) were registered at the NMW from “Cettinje in Montenegro” collected by himself in his 1840 travels. Unfortunately, these specimens have not been found in NMW during recent searches. Cetinje is a city (the historic old capital of Montenegro) located in the Cetinje karst field 12 km from Skadar Lake and even closer to the Rijeka Cernojevića River, an inflow of Skadar Lake. Heckel received two more specimens (acquisition number 1856.VII.26) described by Heckel and Kner in 1857 (page 139 footnote) much later than 1843 from Belotti (sample NMW 55700). In case a designation of neotype to fix the species name A. scoranza is needed in the future, the information presented above on the Heckel’s specimens from Cetinje should be taken into consideration to meet the conditions of Art. 75.3 of the Code (
Recent studies provide evidence that species of Alburnoides and Alburnus Rafinesque were introduced into other river systems (e.g.,
NB was supported by the Austrian Science Foundation (Lise Meitner Programme, project M2183-B25).