Dark Vimba
Vimba melanops (Heckel, 1837)
Vimba vimba melanops Heckel: Drensky, 1951: 107; Abramis vimba var. melanops Heckel: Kovatcheff, 1921: 92; Kovatcheff, 1923: 71.
Order Cypriniformes
Family Cyprinidae
Conservation status: in Bulgaria: Vulnerable VU [A1a]; International: IUCN [DD].
General distribution. Europe: in the rivers from the Aegean Sea drainage basin: Vardar, Struma, Maritsa and their tributaries. It has also been found in the Pinios River in Thessaly (Greece).
Distribution and abundance in Bulgaria. It is found only in the basins of the rivers Maritsa and Struma. The species was described from Bulgaria (the Maritsa River near Plovdiv). Later, it was found in other sections of the Maritsa River and in some of its tributaries: Vacha, Luda Yana, Stryama, Sazliyka, Topolnitsa, Chepelarska and Harmanliyska [1, 2, 3, 4]. It was recorded in the Batak Reservoir [5]. In the region of the Eastern Rhodopes, it was recorded in the Arda River, its tributary the Krumovitsa River, as well as in the Byala Reka River and the Studen Kladenets Reservoir [6]. It was also recorded in the reservoirs Kardzhali and Ivaylovgrad and in most of the Arda tributaries [7]. Recently, it has been caught in the rivers Stryama, Tundzha and Maritsa [M. Vassilev, unpublished data]. In the Struma River basin, the species was recorded in the Kresna Gorge [8], in the region of Blagoevgrad and in the tributary Pirinska Bistritsa River [9], but it is found in the entire river section from the border to as far upstream as the region of the Skrinski Gorge in the north [our data]. In the past, the species was comparatively abundant in the Maritsa River [3], but at present, it is rare.
Habitats. It is found mainly in the middle reaches and rarely in the lower reaches of permanent rivers with sandy and gravel bottom.
Biology. A reophilic species. It reaches sexual maturity at the age of 2-3 years. It makes spawning migrations upstream the rivers in the period May-July. Eggs are deposited over stony and gravel substrate. It feeds on benthic invertebrate animals and algae. It attains a maximum length of 30, rarely 40 cm [3, 10, our data].
Similar species. The vimba (Vimba vimba). The dark vimba is distinguished by the lack of a keel behind the dorsal fin and the less projected snout.
Negative factors. River regulation by dams, barrages and weirs; water pollution; poaching.
Conservation measures taken. None.
Conservation measures needed. Restriction on the construction of dams, barrages and weirs in the middle reaches of the rivers Struma and Maritsa and their tributaries; protection of the rivers against pollution; control of observing the ban on fishing during the spawning period.
References. 1. Kovatcheff, 1921; 2. Kovatcheff, 1923; 3. Chichkoff, 1939a; 4. Drensky, 1951; 5. Margaritov, 1964; 6. Stefanov, Trichkova, 2005; 7. Pehlivanov, 2000b; 8. Stefanov, 2001; 9. Michailova, 1965a; 10. Karapetkova, Zivkov, 1995.
Authors: Tihomir Stefanov, Teodora Trichkova
