Romanichthys valsanicola

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	PERCIFORMES	PERCIDAE

Scientific Name:

Romanichthys valsanicola

Species Authority:

Dumitrescu, Banarescu & Stoica, 1957

Common Name/s:

English

–

Asprete

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Critically Endangered B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii) ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

Assessor/s

Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M.

Evaluator/s:

Bogutskaya, N., & Smith, K. (IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit)

Justification:
The species was known from River Arges and its tributaries Vaslan and Raul Doamnei, however it is now only extant in a 1 km stretch of the Vaslan river. During construction of a reservoir on River Arges (1965) no water was left in the river downstream of the dam and the species disappeared. In the Valsan river, the population has been seriously impacted by stone extraction from the river, overfishing, pollution and damming of the upper part of the river. The survival of this species now depends on the continuity of water released by a single reservoir, and is was the focus of a project of the EU Life programme.

History:

1996	–	Critically Endangered
1994	–	Endangered (IUCN)
1990	–	Endangered (IUCN 1990)
1988	–	Endangered
1986	–	Endangered (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Danube drainage in Romania; formerly known from upper River Arges and its tributaries Valsan and Raul Doamnei. Today restricted to 1 km of upper River Valsan upstream of Bradet village, but adjacent basins still unsufficiently surveyed.
Countries:	Native: Romania
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

Population:	No information.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Habitat: Fast-flowing, cold and clear mountain streams. Usually hidden under stones. Biology: Nocturnal, bottom dweller. Territorial; possibly spawns in second half of May. 120-150 eggs are deposited under stones. Feeds on insect larvae including mayflies (Ephemeroptera) and stoneflies (Plecoptera).
Systems:	Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Threats to the species were deforestation, construction of roads, extraction of stones, pollution and dam constructions has driven this species to the edge of extinction. Currently the species occurs only below a dam, and exists only because enough water is released from the dam.

Major Threat(s):

Threats to the species were deforestation, construction of roads, extraction of stones, pollution and dam constructions has driven this species to the edge of extinction.
Currently the species occurs only below a dam, and exists only because enough water is released from the dam.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Presently the focus of a project of the EU Life programme (now finished), but the species distribution is within a protected area.

Conservation Actions:

Presently the focus of a project of the EU Life programme (now finished), but the species distribution is within a protected area.

Citation:	Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M. 2008. Romanichthys valsanicola. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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