In this study researchers present a taxonomic revision of Phoxinus minnows (Leuciscidae) from the Caucasus and describe a new narrow-ranged endemic species Phoxinus adagumicus from the Adagum River basin, Russia. The authors note that due to the high anthropogenic load on local water systems, this newly described species is potentially under threat and needs protection.
Open-access – https://zse.pensoft.net/article/115696/
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Taxonomic revision of Phoxinus minnows (Leuciscidae) from Caucasus, with description of a new narrow-ranged endemic species
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Artaev ON, Turbanov IS, Bolotovskiy AA, Gandlin AA, Levin BA (2024) Taxonomic revision of Phoxinus minnows (Leuciscidae) from Caucasus, with description of a new narrow-ranged endemic species. Zoosystematics and Evolution 100(1): 291-308. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.100.115696
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Taxonomic revision of Phoxinus from the Caucasus revealed two distinct species. One species, ๐. ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ข๐ , was known from eastern drainage of Black Sea, but was recorded also in the middle reach of the Kuban (Sea of Azov basin), for the first time. The Kuban population represents a genetically unique sub-lineage of ๐. ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ข๐ . Its ancestors might have colonized the Kuban system through the event of ancient river capture.
Another species inhabits only the Adagum River basin in the lower Kuban and represents a new narrow-ranged endemic species โ Phoxinus adagumicus sp. nov. According to mtDNA phylogeny (COI and cytb), ๐. adagumicus sp. nov. represents deeply divergent and one of the two early branched lineages of the genus Phoxinus being distant to other species (min. p-distance = 0.074) including geographical neighbors โ ๐. ๐โ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ from Crimean Peninsula and ๐. ๐๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ข๐ from the Caucasus.
The new species differs from most Phoxinus species by frequently occurring single-row pharyngeal teeth (modal formula 5โ4). The narrow geographic range (ca. 55 km in length and 15โ20 km in width) and high anthropogenic load on local water systems suggests the new species is under threat and needs protection.
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The new species is named after the Adagum River, left tributary of the lower reach of the Kuban River, where the species occurs; adagumicus โ an adjective.
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Live coloration of Phoxinus adagumicus sp. nov. from the Zybza River. Side and ventral views are of the same specimens (IBIW_FS_339). Fish of spawning or post-spawning coloration were caught on 8th May 2022.
Copyright ยฉ 2024 the Author(s). Published in Zoosystematics and Evolution journal. This paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
