The Macedonian vimba ( Vimba melanops) or malamÃda, is a species of freshwater Actinopterygii belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. This fish is Endemism to the southern Balkans.
Taxonomy
The Macedonina vimba was first formally described as
Abramis melanops in 1837 by the Austrian
ichthyologist Johann Jakob Heckel with its type locality given as the
Maritsa River in eastern
Rumelia, in modern Bulgaria.
This species is now classified in the genus
Vimba which was proposed as a genus by the Austrian
zoologist Leopold Fitzinger in 1873 and is classified within the
subfamily Leuciscinae in the Family
Leuciscidae.
Etymology
The Macedonian vimba belongs to the genus
Vimba, a name which Fitzinger used
Tautonym for
Vimba vimba which is thought to be derived from the Swedish
vernacular name vimma for
Vimba vimba. The specific name,
melanops, mean "black face" or "black look", which alludes to the dark colouration of this fish.
Description
The Macedonian vimba is told apart from its Balkan relatives by having between 15 and branched rays in its
anal fin; there is no keel on the back to the rear of the base of the
dorsal fin. The breeding males develop a broad black band along the middle of the flank with a white cheek and belly. This species has a maximum
total length of .
Distribution and habitat
The Macedonian vimba is found in the Southern Balkans in the catchment of the Pineios east to the Evros drainage. It has been recorded in Northern Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and
East Thrace. It is a species found in deep low-lying reaches of rivers and in lakes.
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