Leucos ylikiensis Economidis 1991
Creators: name: Bianco, Pier Giorgio
name: Ketmaier, Valerio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Cypriniformes
Cyprinidae
Leucos
Leucos ylikiensis

description: Leucos ylikiensis (Economidis, 1991)
(Fig. 2 C)
Rutilus aula rubella var. ylikiensis Stephanidis, 1939 (infrasubspecific name not available: locality, Lake Yliki) Rutilus ylikiensis Stephanidis, 1991: 269. (Type localities: lakes Yliki and Paralimni and River Kifissos). Available by reference to Stephanidis (1991). See Kottelat (1997: 82)
Examined material. IZA 8733, 8, Greece, lakes Yliki and Paralimni, P.G. Bianco, 25 April 1987.— IZA 0 49, 20, Greece, L. Yliki, P.G. Bianco, 11–16 August 1998.— IZA 0 479, Greece, 4, L. Volvi, P.G. Bianco, 21 October 1998.
Diagnosis. A species of Leucos characterized by moderate size, not exceeding 120–130 mm SL; absence of a mid-lateral band; peritoneal membrane blackened by dense melanophores; usually 42–43 pored scales on LL, as against 36–38 in Leucos basak. It may be distinguished from Leucos aula for the absence of lateral band and the color of the peritoneal membrane, black in L. ylikiensis and silvery in L. aula. It differs from all others species of Leucos for the high number of total GR, usually 18–20 in L. ylikiensis and 8–16 in all others. The most closely related species, also for the geographical position and according to molecular analyses (Fig. 1 B) is L. panosi from western Greece. Four specimens from Lake Volvi with 17–18 total GR and 41–42 scales on LL are identified as L. ylikiensis, introduced in this lake similarly to what happened for another endemic species from Lake Yliki, Scardinius acarnanicus (Bianco & Kottelat, 2005). Bogutskaya & Iliadou (2006) did not report the species as occurring in Lake Volvi.
Description. Body silvery; lateral band absent; color of eye in living fish, yellowish; fins yellowish or pale grayish in preserved specimens; snout pointed; pre-orbital distance near equal to the horizontal diameter of the eye; lips smooth; mouth opening oblique, the corner of maxillae at the same level or a little below; the anteriormost margin of the eye; head length about 3.8–4.2 times in standard length; body depth about 3.4–3.8 in standard length; mouth terminal or slightly inferior; profile of dorsum convex, slightly humped in several cases; paired and unpaired fins yellowish with few scattered melanophores; free margin of dorsal and anal fin concave; caudal fin forked; peritoneal membrane blackened by several melanophores dense and fused; origin of the D at same level of the insertion of the P2; LL complete, and extending from the margin of opercular membrane, to the end of caudal peduncle; 39–45 pored scales, usually 42–43; usually 7.5 row of scales above and 3.5 below the LL; constantly 3 un-branched rays followed by 9 branched rays in the D; constantly 3 un-branched and usually 8 branched rays in the anal fin; P1s with 1 un-branched and 14–15 branched rays; P2 with 1 un-branched ray and constantly 8 branched rays; 16–21 total GR; in adult reproductive males collected in April, there are granular tubercles on the free margin of scales of the body and on the head. For additional description and shape, see Fig. 2 C and Tables 1, 2.
Distribution. Endemic to the two small and adjacent connected lakes Yliki and Paralimni, and River Ksifissos in western Greece. Introduced in Lake Volvi (present data).
Remarks on ecology, biology and conservation. A preferentially still water species. There are no data available on the species life history. According to local fisherman may reach up to 200 mm TL. The maximum length observed in our materials, collected on April, was for a female of about 150 mm TL, aged 3+, with eggs of about 1.0– 1.2 mm of diameter, all of equal size (a sign of a probable single spawning reproductive habit). Adult males, of 120 mm TL, aged, 2+, have fan-shaped minute tubercles on the border of scales, of the body and on the upper part of paired fins. The probable spawning season extends from March to May. Among the IUCN categories, the species is classified as “Endangered” (IUCN, 2013).
Leucos basak Leucos aula Leucos ylikiensis Leucos panosi Leucos albus L. Yliki, L. Paralimni, L. Ambrakia, L. Trichonis, R. Krupa, L. Besanka, Several basins L.Volvi (introduced) eastern L. Joannina (introduced) R. Moraca & Zeta, L. Skadar L. Prespa Micraprespa, Northen Italy
Characters Greece Western Greece L.Skadar, L.Ohrid
N=130 N=152 N=32 N=90 N=11 Range CV Range CV Range CV Range CV Range CV
description: Published as part of Bianco, Pier Giorgio & Ketmaier, Valerio, 2014, A revision of the Rutilus complex from Mediterranean Europe with description of a new genus, Sarmarutilus, and a new species, Rutilus stoumboudae (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), pp. 379-402 in Zootaxa 3841 (3) on pages 387-389, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3841.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/225778