Leucos basak

Leucos basak, the Albanian roach, Dalmatian roach or Croatian roach, is a species of is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes daces, Eurasian minnow and related fishes. It is found in the Balkan Peninsula where its natural habitats are intermittent rivers and freshwater lakes.

Leucos basak
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Leuciscidae
Subfamily:	Leuciscinae
Genus:	Leucos
Species:	L. basak
Binomial name
Leucos basak Heckel, 1843
Synonyms[2]
Rutilus basak (Heckel 1843) Rutilus rubella karamani Fowler, 1977 Leucos aula var. ohridana Karaman, 1924 Leucos aula var. prespensis Karaman, 1924 Rutilus prespensis vukovici Marić, 1988

Taxonomy

Leucos basak was first formally described in 1843 by the Austrian ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel with its type locality given as Croatia.^[2] It is a species in the genus Leucos within the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae.^[3]

Etymology

Leucos basak belongs to the genus Leucos. This name is derived from the Greek leukos, meaning "white". The genus was named by Johann Jakob Heckel. He did not explain why he chose this name, but it may be that it refers to the silvery colour of Squalius aula. The specific name, basak, is the Croatian common name for this species.^[4]

Description

Leucos basak has its dorsal and anal fins each supported by 11 soft rays. It can be distinguished from the other species in the genus Leucos by its moderate size, typically having a standard length between 12 and 14 cm (4.7 and 5.5 in), the absence of a mid-lateral band; the body is plain silvery in life, the peritoneal membraneis black and there are normally 36-38 pored scales on lateral line, less than the other Leucos species. This species has a maximum published total length of 23.3 cm (9.2 in).^[5]

Distribution and habitat

Leucos basak is endemic to the western Balkans. It is found from the Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia south to the Bojana in Montenegro and Albania, including the Lake Skadar, Lake Ohrid and Prespa basins.^[1] The Albanian roach is found in shallow reaches of karstic streams with slow currents and rivers, oligotrophic lakes, backwaters and reservoirs with abundant vegetation.^[1]