Chondrostoma spp (nose carp)

Two species are known from the region: Chondrostoma soetta from lakes in the Po catchment and C. nasus from lakes and streams north of the Alps (Figure 36). Unfortunately, both species have declined dramatically in recent years. We observed C. soetta only in Lake Mezzola, and C. nasus only in Lake Sarnen. Both species are likely exterminated in several of the lakes in the Po and Rhine drainage where they were previously recorded respectively. It is possible that Protochondrostoma genei occurs or occurred in some of the lakes in the Po catchment, but we did not record it. However, it is noteworthy here to point out that two distinct lineages of C. nasus occur in the region, the Danubian lineage confined to the Lake Constance catchment and the Atlantic lineage in the rest of the Atlantic drainage of Switzerland (Figure 37) [143].