''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'', the Mostar minnow, is a species of

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

ray-finned fish 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 species. This species is found in Southeastern Europe, in the Western Balkans, where it 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 Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Taxonomy

''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'' was first formally described in 2000 by and

Primož Zupančič Primož is a male given name, the South Slavic (primarily Slovenian) form of the Latin " Primus", meaning "first" or "best". Sequential birth-order numerical names were a Roman custom; a male firstborn might be named ''Primus'', a third-born terti ...

with its type locality given as Mostarsko Blato, Hawalka, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The genus ''Phoxineluus'' is classified within the subfamily

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

''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'' is the type species of the genus ''Phoxinellus'', this name is a diminutive of ''

Phoxinus ''Phoxinus'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Leuciscidae of order Cypriniformes, and the only members of the subfamily Phoxininae, or Eurasian minnows. The other species in this genus are also commonly known as minnows. The name "minn ...

'', the genus of the "true" Eurasian minnows. It is thought that Heckel may have coined this name due to the small size of ''P. alepidotus'' when compared to '' Cyprinus phoxinus''. 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 ...

, ''pseudalepidotus'', prefixes ''pseud-'', which means "false", onto the specific name of the type species of ''Phoxinellus'', ''P, alepidotus'', to indicate that this species is similar but not the same as that species.

Description

''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'' has a broad, dark stripe running from the eye to 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 ...

, this sits withion a pigmented area on the back and flanks. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

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 ...

s both have branched rays. The snout is blunt and clearly rounded with a subterminal mouth. The body is largely scale-less but there are 54-77 scales in the lateral line and a few scales above and below the lateral line to the rear of the head. 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

''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'' is only known from the Mostarsko Blato, a

polje A polje, also called karst polje or karst field, is a large flat plain found in karstic geological regions of the world, with areas usually in the range of 5–400 km2 (2–154 sq mi). The name derives from the Slavic languages, ...

in the Dinaric Karst region of southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, where it is found in the middle and lower reaches of the Lištica River as well as a series of associated springs, tributaries and subsurface water bodies. The Mostar minnow occurs in shallow channels with a slow current and clear water.

Conservation

''Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus'' is classified as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

. It has a restricted range and its habitat has been altered by a hydroelectric scheme, drainage and water abstraction. Invasive non-native fish are also a threat to this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1940125 pseudalepidotus Taxa named by Nina Gidalevna Bogutskaya Taxa named by Primož Zupančič Fish described in 2003 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot