The pigoKottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol, Switzerland. 646 p. (''Rutilus pigus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the roach genus ''

Rutilus ''Rutilus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Eurasia. This genus is a widely distributed lineage of cyprinids and ranges from West Europe to East Siberia. Species In FishBase (2022), nine species are included in the genus: * ...

'' of the family

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

. The fish is native to northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It inhabits subalpine lakes of the northern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

basin from the

Livenza The Livenza ( la, Liquentia, fur, Livence, vec, Łivensa) is a river in the Italian provinces of Province of Pordenone, Pordenone, Province of Treviso, Treviso and Province of Venice, Venice. Its source is near Polcenigo and Caneva in Pordenone. ...

to the Po drainage, including Lakes Maggiore,

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, and

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

. ''Rutilus pigus'' has been termed the Danube roach. The

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

drainage is not inhabited by ''R. pigus'' in the strict sense above, however. That region is inhabited by the closely related ''

Rutilus virgo The cactus roach (''Rutilus virgo'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the basin of the Danube River upstream of the Iron Gate, very numerous in the Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Cen ...

'' ("cactus roach"), which until recently was considered to be the same species as ''R. pigus'', or its subspecies ''R.np. virgo''. ''R. virgo'' is widespread from the Iron Gate upstream.

References

pigus Cyprinid fish of Europe Fish described in 1803 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Leuciscinae-stub