The Italian bleak (''Alburnus albidus'') the Southern Italian bleak or white bleak, is a species of
freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...
in the family
Leuciscidae
Leuciscidae is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes, formerly classified as a subfamily of the Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows.
Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnow ...
, which includes daces, minnows, and related fishes. This fish is endemic to southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Taxonomy
The Italian bleak was first formally
described as ''Leuciscus albidus'' in 1838 by the Italian
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
Oronzio Gabriele Costa
Oronzo Gabriele Costa (26 August 1787, Alessano – 7 November 1867 Naples) was an Italian zoologist.
At first a physician, he taught zoology at the University of Naples. He wrote 126 papers on various subjects, principally entomology, and in 18 ...
with its
type locality given as
Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
,
Cilento
Cilento () is an Italian mountain range (part of the Lucan Apennines), which gives its name to a geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the province of Salerno. Is an important tourist area of southern Italy.
...
, from the
Alento River near
Fasana village in Italy. This taxon has been regarded as a subspecies of the
common bleak
The bleak or common bleak (''Alburnus alburnus'') is a small freshwater coarse fish of the family Leuciscidae, which includes the minnows, daces and bleaks. The common bleak is found in Europe and Western Asia.
Description
The body of the ...
(''A. alburnus'') but is now regarded as a valid species.
The genus ''
Alburnus
''Alburnus'' is a genus of fish in the family Leuciscidae, the daces and minnows. They are known commonly as bleaks. A group of species in the genus is known as shemayas. The genus occurs in the western Palearctic realm, and the center of diversi ...
'' is classified within the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...
Leuciscinae
Leuciscinae is a subfamily of freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Leuciscidae, which includes the fishes known as daces, chubs, shiners and minnows. The fishes in this subfamily are mainly found i ...
of the family Leuciscidae.
Etymology
The Italian bleak belongs to the genus ''Alburnus'' a name derived from the
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for
whitefish but it also refers to the
bleak
Bleak may refer to:
Fish
* Species of the genus ''Alburnus''
* Some species of the genus ''Acanthobrama''
* ''Alburnoides bipunctatus'', also known as the schneider
* ''Alburnoides oblongus'', Tashkent riffle bleak
* ''Aphyocypris chinensis'', Chi ...
, a name which means pale in English, in reference to the pale non lustrous colour of ''A. alburnus''. The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''albidus'', is Latin and also means whitish or white.
Description
The Italian bleak is distinguished from related species in Italy and the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
by having the origin of the
anal fin
Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...
immediately to the rear or below the last branched
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...
ray. The anal fin has between 11 and . The ventral keel is exposed between the anus and the base of the
pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...
. In preserved specimens there is a faint stripe along the
lateral line
The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...
which extends to the base of the pelvic fin. The mouth is terminal. This species has a maximum
standard length
Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology.
Overall length
Standard length (SL) is ...
is .
Distribution and habitat
The Italian bleak is endemic to southern Italy where it is found in the rivers draining into the Adriatic and Ionian Seas between the
Trigno
The Trigno (Latin ''Trinius'') is an Italian river. It originates in the Apennine Mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) ...
to the
Sinni river systems, and between the
Volturno
The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy.
Geography
It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southe ...
River to the Alento River on the Tyrrhenian side. It has been introduced to the
Mingardo,
Bussento
The Bussento is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from Cervati mountain, it flows in the Campanian territory of Cilento, in the Province of Salerno. Its mouth is by the Tyrrhenian Sea, nearby Policastro Bussentino.
Geography
After its ...
,
Noce,
Lao,
Savuto
The Savuto is a river and valley in Calabria, Southern Italy, that lies at the intersection of the provinces of Cosenza and Catanzaro. It is also the name of a DOC wine produced in the region.
The river's source is in La Sila and it empties in ...
and
Neto rivers. This fish is found in both larger river channels and smaller tributaries with moderate to low flow with gravel, stone or pebble streambeds, as well as in reservoirs.
[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q301413
Alburnus
Freshwater fish of Europe
Fish described in 1838
Taxa named by Oronzio Gabriele Costa
Endemic fauna of Italy
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Habitats Directive species