White-Finned Gudgeon
Romanogobio albipinnatus (Lukasch, 1933)
Gobio albipinnatus Lukasch, 1933: Marinov, 1967: 39; Karapetkova, 1994: 178; Karapetkova, Zivkov, 1995: 118.
Order Cypriniformes
Family Cyprinidae
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Vulnerable VU [B1b (i, ii, iii)], BDA-II; International: IUCN [DD], BeC-III, HD-II.
General distribution. The basins of the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Baltic Sea: the rivers Vistula, Oder, Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, Don, Volga, and those taking their source in the Ural.
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, the species was first recorded in the Ogosta River near the village of Lehchevo [1]. Later, it was found in the Danube [2, 3] and its tributaries Vidbol, Iskar, Vit, Osam, Yantra and Rusenski Lom [4, 5, 6]. In the Yantra River, it was found as far upstream as Veliko Tarnovo [4]. Recently, it was recorded of comparatively low abundance in the entire section of the Danube River from Vrav to Silistra, in the Vidbol River near Dunavtsi and in the Yantra River as far upstream as Petko Karavelovo [our data]. It has not been confirmed in the other Danube tributaries.
Habitats. It is found in the middle and lower reaches of permanent rivers with sandy and gravel bottom.
Biology. A benthic reophilic species. It reaches sexual maturity in the second year. It spawns repeatedly from the middle of May to the beginning of July. The females lay the eggs in sections with a weak current. It feeds on bottom invertebrate animals (chironomids and insect larvae), detritus and less on algae. It reaches a maximum length of 110 mm and has a life span of 5-6 years [7].
Similar species. The gudgeon (Gobio gobio), the Danubian longbarbel gudgeon (Romanogobio uranoscopus) and Kessler's gudgeon (R. kesslerii). The white-finned gudgeon differs by the unspotted fins, larger eyes and the location of the anal opening (closer to the pelvic than to the anal fin origin).
Negative factors. Regulation activities leading to a change of the hydrological regime of the rivers; water pollution.
Conservation measures taken. The species was included in Annex II of the Biological Diversity Act (2002).
Conservation measures needed. Control of the building of dams, barrages and weirs and protection of the rivers against pollution.
References. 1. Marinov, 1967; 2. Marinov, 1978; 3. Sivkov, 1989; 4. Karapetkova, 1972; 5. Karapetkova, Dikov, 1986; 6. Karapetkova, 1994; 7. Naseka et al., 1999.
Authors: Tihomir Stefanov, Teodora Trichkova
