Ohrid minnow
| Ohrid minnow | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Leuciscidae |
| Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
| Genus: | Pelasgus |
| Species: | P. minutus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pelasgus minutus (S. L. Karaman, 1924)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
The Ohrid minnow (Pelasgus minutus) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. It is found in the Western Balkans.
Taxonomy
[edit]The Ohrid minnow was first formally described as Paraphoxinus minutus by the Yugoslav ichthyologist Stanko Karaman with its type locality given as Lake Ohrid and its backwaters in Macedonia.[2] This species is now classified in the genus Pelasgus within the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae.[3]
Etymology
[edit]The Ohrid minnow belongs to the genus Pelasgus, this name is derived from the Pelasgians, the ancient people who lived around the Aegean Sea before the arrival of the Indo-European speaking ancestors of the Greeks in the second millennium B.C.E., and alludes to the fishes in this genus all being found in the Balkans. The specific name, minutus, means "small", a reference to the smaller scales of this species than to its original presumed congeners in Paraphoxinus, a taxon now regarded as a synonym of Pseudophoxinus.[4]
Description
[edit]The Ohrid minnow has 3 spines and 7 soft rays in the dorsal fin and 3 spines and 6 soft rays in the anal fin. This species has only a limited number of relatively large scales on the body. It has a relatively longer body and shorter tail than Pelasgus epiroticus, as well as haveing larger eyes and a wider, longer head. Its lower lip extends slightly beyond the upper lip, and the mouth opening is relatively small, but still larger than that of P. epiroticus.[5] This fish has a maximum standard length of 5 cm (2.0 in).[6]
Distributionand habitat
[edit]The Ohrid minnow is endemic to the Western Balkans where it is found in the Lakee Ohrid drainage system in North Macedonia and Albania, the Lake Skadar drainage system in Albania and Montenegro, in the Black Drin in Albania and Montenegro and in two coastal streams flowing into the Bay of Kotor between the cities of Tivat and Budva in Montenegro. This species prefers waterbodies with slow-moving or stangnant water where there is a lot of aquatic vegetation, typically in spring fed wetlands and lakes from sea level to upland plateaux.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ford, M. (2024). "Pelasgus minutus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024: e.T61193A137282528. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T61193A137282528.en. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pelasgus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Leuciscinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (8 April 2024). "Family LEUCISCIDAE: Subfamily LEUCISCINAE Bonaparte 1835 (European Minnows)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ Trajche Talevski; Marina Talevska; and Aleksandra Talevska Leshoska (2024). "Endemic Fish Species in the Macedonian Fresh Water". In Ana Cano Ortiz and Juan Peña-Martínez (eds.). Endemic Species from around the World - Teaching for Sustainability. IntechOpen. doi:10.5772/intechopen.1003342. ISBN 978-1-83634-048-5.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pelsgus minutus". FishBase. February 2025 version.