''Romanichthys'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species.
The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...
, one of two genera in the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
Romanichthyini, which along with the tribe
Luciopercini, forms the
subfamily Luciopercinae
The Luciopercinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish, classified within the Family (biology), family Percidae, the subfamily includes the pike-perches and zingels. The pike-perches of the genus ''Zander, Sander'' have an Holarctic distribution whi ...
of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Percidae
The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains more ...
, alongside the
perch
Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...
es,
ruffes, and
darters
The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...
. The genus
contains the single species ''Romanichthys valsanicola'', known as the sculpin-perch, asprete, or Romanian darter.
This fish was
described in 1957 by Romanian student scientists M. Dumitrescu, P. Bănărescu, and N. Stoica. Local names include ''asprete'', ''poprete'', and ''sforete''. Endemic to a very restricted area in southern
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, it was found in the upper reach of the
Argeş River and in two of its tributaries:
Râul Doamnei
Râul Doamnei is a left tributary of the river Argeș in Romania. Its source is on the eastern slope of Moldoveanu Peak (Făgăraș Mountains), the highest mountain peak in Romania. It discharges into the Argeș just north of Pitești. Its uppe ...
and
Vâlsan. Due to hydrotechnical constructions and deterioration of its habitat, it survived only in the tributary Vâlsan.
Description
''R. valsanicola'' is a small, greyish-brown fish growing to about long, covered with small, rough scales. It can be distinguished from other European perches by the two clearly separate dorsal fins, the first with eight or nine spines, the anal fin having 7½ branched rays and 58–68 scales along the
lateral line.
The fish is considered to be a
living fossil
A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living foss ...
, having survived unchanged for millions of years.
Biology
The time of reproduction is in May and June. The female lays 120 to 150 eggs under rocks. This fish is active at night and feeds on the aquatic larvae of insects such as
stoneflies (Plecoptera),
caddisflies
The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the ...
(Trichoptera), and
mayflies
Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the order ...
(Ephemeroptera). It hides under stones during the day.
[ It is a nocturnal species that is highly ]territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
, and the territories are aggressively defended at night.
Status
This species is an endangered freshwater fish and is found on the red list of the IUCN, where it is rated as critically endangered. Its area of distribution has drastically diminished, and it is now considered to be the European fish genus with the most restricted range. The last remaining population in the Vâlsan River is totally reliant on the amount of water released by the reservoir immediately upstream.NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
, the Bucharest Institute of Biology, has worked to preserve this species with the financial support of the Regional Environmental Center.
Taxonomy
''Romanichthys'' is the sister taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
of the four species in the genus ''Zingel
''Zingel'' is a genus of fish in the family Percidae. They are long and slender, reaching 12 to 48 cm in length. They are found in rivers and streams in Europe. They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and insect larvae ...
'' and some evidence suggests that these two genera may be a single genus and that the asprete should be classified within ''Zingel''.
References
External links
BBC
"Back from the dead: Race to save Romania's 65 million-year-old fish" (2020.11.08)
*
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17141297, from2=Q155255
Luciopercinae
Endemic fauna of Romania
Monotypic freshwater fish genera
Taxa named by Petre Mihai Bănărescu