Phoxinellus
| Phoxinellus | |
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| Phoxinellus alepidotus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Leuciscidae |
| Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
| Genus: | Phoxinellus Heckel, 1843 |
| Type species | |
| Phoxinellus alepidotus Heckel, 1843
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| Species | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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Phoxinellus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. These fishes are found in the Balkans.
Taxonomy
[edit]Phoxinellus was first used as agenus name by the Austrian ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel in 1843 when he described Phoxinellus alepidotus, giving its type locality as Livno, Bosnia. In 1859 or 1860 Pieter Bleeker designated P. alepidotus as the type species of the genus. In 1863 Bleeker placed P. alpeidotis in the new genus Paraphoxinus but this taxon is a synonym of Phoxinellus. Phoxinellus is classified within the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae.[1][2]
Species
[edit]Phoxinellus contains the following species:[1]
- Phoxinellus alepidotus Heckel, 1843 (Dinaric minnow)
- Phoxinellus dalmaticus Zupančič & Bogutskaya, 2000 (Dalmatian minnow)
- Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus Bogutskaya & Zupančič, 2003 (Mostar minnow)
Etymology
[edit]Phoxinellus is a diminutive of Phoxinus, 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.[3]
Charcteristics
[edit]Phoxinellus species are small fishes with standard lengths that are typically less than 150 mm (5.9 in). They have 5 upper pharyngeal teeth and 4 or 4 lower pharyngeal teeth. The number of branched fin rays in the dorsal and anal fin is relatively low at between 6+1⁄2 and 8+1⁄2 and there is no connection between sensory canals of the preoperculim and jaw with the one below the eyes.[4]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Phoxinellus minnows are found in southeastern Europe where they are endemic to the Balkans where they are found in karstic streams. The Dinaric minnow and the Mostar minnow are found in Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Damatian minnow in Croatia.[1]
Conservation status
[edit]Phoxinellus minnows each have restricted ranges and the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies each of the as Endangered.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Phoxinellus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Leuciscinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf (8 April 2024). "Family LEUCISCIDAE: Subfamily LEUCISCINAE Bonaparte 1835 (European Minnows)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ Bogutskaya, Nina & Zupancic, Primoz (2003). "Phoxinellus pseudalepidotus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), a new species from the Neretva basin with an overview of the morphology of Phoxinellus species of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 14 (4).
- ^ "Phoxinellus - Genus". IUCN. Retrieved 15 April 2025.