''Parachondrostoma arrigonis'', the Júcar nase, is a species of freshwater

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 the daces. Eurasian minnows and related fishes. This species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Spain.

Taxonomy

''Parachondrostoma arrigonis'' was first formally described as ''Leuciscus arrigonis'' in 1866 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 and

Júcar The Júcar () or Xúquer () is a river in Spain, on the Iberian Peninsula. The river runs for approximately 509 km. Its source is located at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, in the municipality of Tragacete, province of Cuenca, on the eastern fla ...

River near

Cuenca Cuenca may refer to: People * Cuenca (surname) Places Ecuador * Cuenca Canton, in the Azuay Province ** Cuenca, Ecuador, capital of Cuenca Canton and Azuay Province ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuenca Peru * Cuenca District, Huarochirí ...

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

Parachondrostoma ''Parachondrostoma'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. This species in this genus are found mostly in Spain with one species entering Fran ...

'' 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

. The genus was proposed in 2007 for four species which were split from ''Chondrostoma'' on the basis of genetic evidence.

Etymology

''Parachondrostoma arrigonis'' belongs to the genus ''

'', this name places the prefix ''para-'', meaning "near to" or "similar to" in front of the genus name ''

Chondrostoma ' (from the Ancient Greek roots (''khondros'') 'lump' + (''stoma'') 'mouth' = 'lump-mouth') is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Leuciscidae. They are commonly known as nases, although this term is also used locally to denote particu ...

'', which is a combination of ''chondros'', a word meaning "gristle" or "cartilage", with ''stoma'', meaning "mouth". This is an allusion to the horny plates in the mouths of the fishes, in ''Chondrostoma'' . 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 ...

, ''arrigonis'', honours Professor Arrigo of

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, a "dear friend" of Steindachner's who died of

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

in 1865.

Description

''Parachondrostoma arrigonis'' can be told apart from other members of its genus by its blunt snout, the rostral cap is hidden by the upper lip in ventral view; 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 41 and 50 scales and the depth of the body fits into its

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 ...

4.4-5.6 times. The Júcar nase has a maximum standard length of .

Distribution and habitat

''Parachondrostoma arrigonis'' is endemic to the Júcar River and adjacent

Albufera de València The Albufera de València (, meaning "lagoon of Valencia" in Catalan language, Catalan, from Arabic language, Arabic ''al-buhayra'', "small sea"), is a freshwater lagoon and estuary on the Gulf of Valencia coast of the Valencian Community in ...

wetland basin in the autonomous communities of

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

and the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

in eastern Spain. This species is typically found in small, shallow stretches, less than wide and deep, where there is riparian vegetation. Within these stretches these fishes prefer relatively deep pools where there is with a slow current and ample cover in the form of vegetation or fallen timber. It is also found in a few small lakes in karstic areas in the headwaters of the Júcar River drainage and it will enter reservoirs. The habitats preferred by the Júcar nase have wide variations in water levels and may dry up in some sections. However, some fishes use isolated permanent shady pools as refuges.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q861047 arrigonis Endemic fauna of Spain Endemic fish of the Iberian Peninsula Cyprinid fish of Europe Fish described in 1866 Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Taxonomy articles created by Polbot