Telestes dabar, Bogutskaya, Nina G., Zupancic, Primoz, Bogut, Ivan & Naseka, Alexander M., 2012

Bogutskaya, Nina G., Zupancic, Primoz, Bogut, Ivan & Naseka, Alexander M., 2012, Two new freshwater fish species of the genus Telestes (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from karst poljes in Eastern Herzegovina and Dubrovnik littoral (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia), ZooKeys 180, pp. 53-80 : 54-61

Telestes dabar sp. n. Figs 1a2a3a

Holotype.

NMW 95295, 79.1 mm SL, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Dabarsko Polje, Opačica River at Potkom, 43°5.9'N, 18°7.6'E, 15 Sept. 2006, coll. Zupančič.

Paratypes.

NMW 95300, 6, 55.2-71.1 mm SL, same data as holotype; PZC 525, 72, 32.5-51.3 mm SL, same data as holotype; PZC 526, 13, 48.0-73.8 mm SL, same data as holotype; PZC 565, 21, 35.5-56.7 mm SL, same locality, 8 July 2011; ZISP 54995, 15, 38.1-58.9 mm SL, same locality, 8 July 2011; SMNH 444, 35.5-60.8 mm SL, same locality, 8 July 2011; PZC 279, 12, 44.2-71.9 mm SL, BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Dabarsko Polje, Vrijeka River, 24 May 2001; PZC 521, 13, 54.0-62.6 mm SL, same locality as 279, 15 Sept. 2004; PZC 575, 18, 40.5-69.8 mm SL, same locality as 279, 15 Sept. 2006.

Diagnosis.

Telestes dabar is distinguished from Telestes metohiensis and Telestes miloradi by having the following combination of characters: slightly curved dark stripe (obvious in live and preserved specimens) present from just behind operculum to vertical just anterior to origin of anal fin, this stripe narrow and separated from dark pigmented area on back along its entire length; scales on most of body not overlapping but situated close to one another; scales overlapping behind pectoral girdle along lateral line and usually on caudal peduncle; snout with fleshy tip projecting over upper lip; mouth subterminal with tip of mouth cleft at or below level of ventral margin of eye; lateral line usually interrupted, with 24-69 total lateral-line scales; branched dorsal-fin rays usually 8½; branched anal-fin rays usually 8½; gill rakers 9 or 10; total vertebrae 39-41, mode 40; abdominal vertebrae 22-24, mode 22; caudal vertebrae 16-18, mode 17; head width 43-52% HL; and lower jaw long, length 10-12% SL.

Description.

Morphometric data are summarised in Table 1a, selected counts in Tables 2-4. General appearance can be seen in Figs 1a and 2a. Body compressed, elon gate. Caudal-peduncle depth only slightly less than half maximum body depth; head length greater than maximum body depth. Eye small, its diameter smaller than snout length. Snout fleshy, slightly to markedly projecting beyond upper lip (similar to a feature Kottelat and Freyhof [2007: fig. 39] called the "rostral cap," which covers all or part of upper lip); snout terminating laterally in prominent crease along anterior edge of first infraorbital. Mouth subterminal, tip of mouth cleft at level of ventral margin of eye or, more frequently, below it. Lower jaw-quadrate junction at vertical through anterior half of eye. Length of lower jaw 10-12% SL or 36-41% HL, or 102-132% depth of operculum.

Dorsal fin with 7½ (9 specimens), 8½ (151) or 9½ (1) branched rays, 8½ in holotype. Dorsal-fin origin above posterior end of pelvic-fin base. Anal fin with 8½ (153) or 9½ (8) branched rays, 8½ in holotype. Outer margin of anal fin slightly concave or almost straight. Caudal fin moderately forked, lobes weakly pointed, with 9+8 principal branched rays.

Total gill rakers (Table 2) 9 (20) or 10 (20), 10 in holotype. Pharyngeal teeth 5-4, hooked, slightly serrated (examined in 5 specimens).

Scales covering entire body including pre-pectoral area and abdomen, non-overlapping on most parts of body but overlapping in triangular-shaped area just behind pectoral girdle and usually on caudal peduncle at least behind anal fin (Fig. 3a); lateral-line scales always overlapping, sometimes a few posteriormost scales not overlapping. Scales irregularly set but close to one another. Most flank scales oval, somewhat deeper than long; scales on caudal peduncle more elongated (longer than deep) having prominent posterior attenuation. Trunk scales smaller than lateral-line scales but not co nsiderably so.All scales well ossified, usuallyvisible without staining. In live specimens, scales clearly visible because of some silver highlights (Fig. 2a). Lateral line complete (2 specimens), long but incomplete (5) or interrupted (33) as in specimen in Fig. 3a; if interrupted, gaps typically comprising absence of a few scales in a few places, 24-69 in total (Table 3), 65 with one interruption in holotype. Lateral line making clear curvature above anal-fin origin. Number of scales in total lateral series 62-69 (modal range 65-67), 68 in holotype.

Parietal segment of CSO lacking. CPM not communicating with CIO, terminating over the upper margin of opercular antedorsal process. CSO complete with 8, rarely 7 or 9, pores. CIO complete with 14-17 pores and with 4 canal openings on first infraorbital. CPM complete or interrupted between the angulo-articular and preoperculum and/or between preoperculum and operculum, CPM with 14-17 pores (4, rarely 5, canal openings on dentary, and 7-9, usually 8, canal openings on preoperculum). CST complete, with 5-7 pores or narrowly interrupted in middle.

Total vertebrae (Table 4) 39 (49), 40 (101) or 41 (11), 40 in holotype; abdominal vertebrae 22 (101), 23 (58) or 24 (2), 22 in holotype; caudal vertebrae 16 (9), 17 (82) or 18 (70), 18 in holotype; predorsal vertebrae 13 (24), 14 (126) or 15 (11), 14 in holotype; intermediate vertebrae 3 (123) or 4 (38), 3 in holotype. Most frequent vertebral formulae 22+17 (41), 22+18 (60) and 23+17 (40), 22+18 in holotype.

Colouration.

In live specimens, dark back contrasting sharply with pale area below lateral midline, even in small specimens. Black midlateral stripe extending from head to caudal peduncle forming ventral border of darkly pigmented area on back. Another black lateral stripe occurring more ventrally, on otherwise pale ventral portion of trunk; this stripe extending from eye or opercle (or just behind opercle) to at least vertical through point halfway between origins of pelvic and anal fins, sometimes extending as poorly coalesced spots onto caudal peduncle. Dash-like black marking present along internal procurrent rays of caudal-fin dorsal lobe, and elongate black blotch present at bases of 3 rd– 7th branched rays of dorsal fin. Black pigment also occurring on rays of dorsal and caudal fins, but its intensity varying among individuals. Peritoneum black. This general pattern of pigmentation retained in formaldehyde-fixed and ethanol-preserved specimens. Live specimens collected from May through September, both males and females, exhibiting yellowish-orange pigment at bases of all fins, especially pectoral and anal fins, and yellowish pigment on iris and along anterior, dorsal and posterior margins of operculum. Colouration of specimens in cold season unknown.

Sexual dimorphism.

Genital papilla absent in both males and females. Most morphometric characters not significantly different between males and females (Table 1a) with five exceptions. In males, distance between origins of pectoral and pelvic fins longer than in females (P<0.0001), dorsal fin deeper (P<0.02), anal fin deeper (P<0.0001), pectoral fin longer (P<0.0001), pectoral fin often reaching pelvic-fin origin in males, and pelvic fin longer (P<0.0001), pelvic fin often reaching anal-fin origin in males.

In samples collected in May, ripe males with small but prominent conical breeding tubercles. Tubercles regularly covering entire body, including dorsal and ventral surfaces of caudal peduncle, except for ventralmost surface of head. Single tubercle located on each scale. On all fins (except for caudal fin), tubercles present on both sides along all rays and on fin membrane, being particularly dense along marginal rays. Tubercles forming rows along outer margins of operculum and pectoral fin; tubercles in those rows larger than others on body. Degree of tubercle development varying between males with regard to both size of tubercles and their location. Tubercles always present on head, back, and pectoral fin. Males retaining tubercles, though reduced in size and density, until September.

Distribution.

The new species is known from two rivers, Vrijeka and Opačica, in the Dabarsko Polje of Eastern Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Fig. 4).

Habitat and biology.

From May through September Telestes dabar is found in shallow water of those river sections that are adjacent to and filled from underground springs. There is no current, and the water is clean (Fig. 5a). Females with eggs and just-spent females were caught on 24 May 2001 in Vrijeka River and mature males and just-spent females on 31 May 2000 in Opačica River. The size of the ripe eggs was 1.3-1.7 mm in diameter. In all examined samples females predominate. The smallest spent female was 45.0 mm SL, and the smallest ripe male 43.7 mm SL. No other fishes were caught in Opačica together with Telestes dabar while Delminichthys ghetaldii were collected in Vrijeka.

Etymology.

The specific name, dabar, refers to the type locality, Dabarsko, or Dabar Polje; it is a noun in apposition.