Freshwater fish of Serbia: an annotated check list with some faunistic and zoogeographical considerations

Abstract

Fish fauna of Serbia contains 21 families, 57 genera and 83 species. There is no strict endemism of any species. Among subspecies, 26 are not the type ones. Of these taxa, 10 genera and 13 species are allochthonous, i.e. introduced, most of which belong to distant zoogeographic regions (e.g. Central Asia, North America, Northern Europe), although 3 genera and species belong to other neighboring watersheds of the Balkan. Particular faunistic complexes in the ichthyofauna of Serbia are present: the complex of the South-Western Balkan subdivision of the South European division (the Adriatic Sea watershed), the complex of the Central-European division and the Ponto-Caspian division complex (Danubian, i.e. the Black Sea watershed). Elements of some other regions (e.g. Boreal species) also occur. The least known part of the Serbian fish fauna is that of the Aegean watershed. The systematic status of particular fish species, both due to their yet insufficiently known status, or to uncertain identification sources are also discussed. The legal regulation of fish protection, shared between several documents of different legal level, is contradictory, and the protection status for the particular lamprey and fish species is explicitly given.