Leucos ylikiensis (Economidis, 1991)

Bianco, Pier Giorgio & Ketmaier, Valerio, 2014, A revision of the Rutilus complex from Mediterranean Europe with description of a new genus, Sarmarutilus, and a new species, Rutilus stoumboudae (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), Zootaxa 3841 (3), pp. 379-402 : 387-389

Leucos ylikiensis (Economidis, 1991)

( Fig. 2 C)

Rutilus aula rubella var. ylikiensis Stephanidis, 1939 (infrasubspecific name not available: locality, Lake Yliki) Rutilus ylikiensis Stephanidis, 1991: 269 . (Type localities: lakes Yliki and Paralimni and River Kifissos). Available by reference to Stephanidis (1991). See Kottelat (1997: 82)

Examined material. IZA 8733, 8, Greece, lakes Yliki and Paralimni, P.G. Bianco, 25 April 1987.— IZA 0 49, 20, Greece, L. Yliki, P.G. Bianco, 11–16 August 1998.— IZA 0 479, Greece, 4, L. Volvi, P.G. Bianco, 21 October 1998.

Diagnosis. A species of Leucos characterized by moderate size, not exceeding 120–130 mm SL; absence of a mid-lateral band; peritoneal membrane blackened by dense melanophores; usually 42–43 pored scales on LL, as against 36–38 in Leucos basak . It may be distinguished from Leucos aula for the absence of lateral band and the color of the peritoneal membrane, black in L. ylikiensis and silvery in L. aula . It differs from all others species of Leucos for the high number of total GR, usually 18–20 in L. ylikiensis and 8–16 in all others. The most closely related species, also for the geographical position and according to molecular analyses ( Fig. 1 B) is L. panosi from western Greece. Four specimens from Lake Volvi with 17–18 total GR and 41–42 scales on LL are identified as L. ylikiensis , introduced in this lake similarly to what happened for another endemic species from Lake Yliki, Scardinius acarnanicus ( Bianco & Kottelat, 2005) . Bogutskaya & Iliadou (2006) did not report the species as occurring in Lake Volvi.

Description. Body silvery; lateral band absent; color of eye in living fish, yellowish; fins yellowish or pale grayish in preserved specimens; snout pointed; pre-orbital distance near equal to the horizontal diameter of the eye; lips smooth; mouth opening oblique, the corner of maxillae at the same level or a little below; the anteriormost margin of the eye; head length about 3.8–4.2 times in standard length; body depth about 3.4–3.8 in standard length; mouth terminal or slightly inferior; profile of dorsum convex, slightly humped in several cases; paired and unpaired fins yellowish with few scattered melanophores; free margin of dorsal and anal fin concave; caudal fin forked; peritoneal membrane blackened by several melanophores dense and fused; origin of the D at same level of the insertion of the P2; LL complete, and extending from the margin of opercular membrane, to the end of caudal peduncle; 39–45 pored scales, usually 42–43; usually 7.5 row of scales above and 3.5 below the LL; constantly 3 un-branched rays followed by 9 branched rays in the D; constantly 3 un-branched and usually 8 branched rays in the anal fin; P1s with 1 un-branched and 14–15 branched rays; P2 with 1 un-branched ray and constantly 8 branched rays; 16–21 total GR; in adult reproductive males collected in April, there are granular tubercles on the free margin of scales of the body and on the head. For additional description and shape, see Fig. 2 C and Tables 1, 2.

Distribution. Endemic to the two small and adjacent connected lakes Yliki and Paralimni, and River Ksifissos in western Greece. Introduced in Lake Volvi (present data).

Remarks on ecology, biology and conservation. A preferentially still water species. There are no data available on the species life history. According to local fisherman may reach up to 200 mm TL. The maximum length observed in our materials, collected on April, was for a female of about 150 mm TL, aged 3+, with eggs of about 1.0– 1.2 mm of diameter, all of equal size (a sign of a probable single spawning reproductive habit). Adult males, of 120 mm TL, aged, 2+, have fan-shaped minute tubercles on the border of scales, of the body and on the upper part of paired fins. The probable spawning season extends from March to May. Among the IUCN categories, the species is classified as “Endangered” (IUCN, 2013).

Leucos basak Leucos aula Leucos ylikiensis Leucos panosi Leucos albus L. Yliki, L. Paralimni, L. Ambrakia, L. Trichonis, R. Krupa, L. Besanka, Several basins L.Volvi (introduced) eastern L. Joannina (introduced) R. Moraca & Zeta, L. Skadar L. Prespa Micraprespa, Northen Italy

Characters Greece Western Greece L.Skadar, L.Ohrid

N=130 N=152 N=32 N=90 N=11 Range CV Range CV Range CV Range CV Range CV

Figures

FIGURE 2. Native species of the Rutilus complex in southern Mediterranean Europe: A) Leucos aula, 115 mm SL, R. Bacchiglione, northern Italy, April 1996 (IZA 0425); B) Leucos basak, 95 mm SL, Lake Ohrid, FYROM, August 1987, (IZA 0429); C) Leucos ylikiensis, 120 mm SL, Lake Yliki, April 1987 (IZA 8733); D) Leucos panosi, 130 mm SL, canal to Lake Trichonis, May 1987 (IZA 8766); E) Leucos albus, 98 mm SL, River Moraca, Montenegro, November 1999 (IZA 0421); F) Sarmarutilus rubilio, 100 mm SL, River Ofanto, southern Italy, February 2002 (IZA 02183); G) Rutilus pigus, 230 mm SL, Lake Major, northern Italy, (IZA 0474); H) Holotype of Rutilus stoumboudae new species, 148 mm SL, October 1998, Lake Volvi, Greece (IZA 02107).

FIGURE 1. A) Collecting localities (L. = lakes, R. = rivers) of Rutilus complex species. 1, R. Thames; 2, R. Danube (Slovakia); 3, R. Danube (Romania); 4, L. Como; 5, L. Maggiore; 6, R. Arno and R. Serchio; 7, R. Albegna and R. Cecina; 8, R. Ombrone and R. Fiora; 9, R. Tiber and R. Mignone; 10, L. Trasimeno; 11, R. Liri and R. Garigliano; 12, R. Volturno and R. Sele; 13, R. Pescara and R. Tavo; 14, R. Trigno; 15, R. Tronto; 16, R. Livenza; 17, L. Pernica; 18, R. Sava; 19, L. Drusino; 20, R. Krupa (R. Neretva basin); 21, L. Besanka (R. Neretva basin); 22, R. Moraca and R. Zeta; 23, L. Skadar; 24, L. Dojran; 25, L. Horid; 26, L. Prespa and L. Micraprespa; 27, L. Vegoritis; 28, L. Volvi; 29, L. Joannina; 30, L. Yliki and L. Paralimni; 31, L. Ambrakia; 32, L. Trichonis. Bold numbers are the different peri-Mediterranean ichthyogeographic districts described in Bianco (1990). B) A schematic temporal reconstruction of the diversification of the genus in southern Mediterranean Europe based on cyt- b is shown (modified from Ketmaier et al., 2008). For each taxon the corresponding number of the district of origin is shown; triangles indicate that multiple populations were analyzed. Numbers at nodes are divergence times in million years; all labeled nodes were robustly supported in the phylogenetic reconstructions (see Ketmaier et al., 2008 for further details).