''Pachychilon macedonicum'', the Macedonian roach or Macedonian moranec, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. This species is found in Greece and North Macedonia.

Taxonomy

''Pachychilon macedonium'' was first formally described as ''Leuciscus (Leucos) macedonicus'' in 1892 by the Austrian

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 35,800 species of fish had been described as of March 2 ...

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner des ...

with its type locality given as

Lake Dojran Doiran Lake (, ''Dojransko Ezero''; , ''Límni Dhoïráni''), also spelled Dojran Lake is a lake with an area of shared between North Macedonia () and Greece (). To the west is the city of Nov Dojran (Нов Дојран), to the east the vil ...

in North Macedonia. It is now classified as a valid species in the genus ''

Pachychilon ''Pachychilon'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related fishes. The fishes in this genus are found in Europe. Species ''Pachychilon'' contains the fol ...

'' 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 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 ...

Etymology

''Pachychilon macedonium'' is a member of the genus ''Pachychilon'' a name which combine ''pachys'', meaning thick, with ''chilon'', a latinisation of ''cheilos'', which means lips, a reference to the thick lips of the fishes in this genus. 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 ...

, ''macedonicus'', means belonging to

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Description

''Pachychilon macedonium'' is distinguished from '' P. pictum'' by the possession of the thick black stripe running along the sides from the tip of the snout to the base of the

caudal 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 only ...

, separating the dark brown back from the silvery belly. There is an ellipsoid black blotch on the caudal peduncle. These markings are clearer in preserved specimens. 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 ...

has between 35 and 39 scales and ther are branched rays in 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 ...

. 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 ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Pachychilon macedonium'' is found in river systems draining into the northwestern

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

from the Pineios in

Thessaly Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...

to the

Gallikos Gallikos () is a village and a former municipality in the Kilkis (regional unit), Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has ...

Central Macedonia Central Macedonia ( ; , ) is one of the thirteen Regions of Greece, administrative regions of Greece, consisting the central part of the Geographic regions of Greece, geographical and historical region of Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia. With a ...

, including lakes such as Doiran,

Vegoritida Vegoritida () is a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Edessa, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 289.987 km2. Populatio ...

Petron Petron Corporation is the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines, supplying more than a third of the country's oil requirements. It operates a refinery in Limay, Bataan with a rated capacity of . From the refinery, Petron ...

and Chimaditida. In the

Vardar The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

the Macedonian roach extends into North Macedonia. There is an apparently introduced population in a stream draining into Lake Koroneia, close to the Gallikos. This is a shoaling species of lowland rivers, freshwater lakes and marshes, and it has become established in some reservoirs and canal systems.

Sources

macedonicus Fish described in 1892 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Leuciscinae-stub