A new species of the genus Gobio Cuvier, 1816 (Actynopterigii, Cyprinidae) from the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France

Abstract

Iberian and southern French populations of the genus Gobio, considered in the past to be populations of Gobio gobio, are assigned to a new species (Gobio lozanoi n. sp.) based on genetic and morphological characters. This new species of the genus Gobio is found in the basins of the Rivers Adour in France and Bidasoa, Duero, Ebro, Guadalete, Guadiana, Guadalquivir, Júcar, Llobregat, Mondego, Mijares, Nalón, Nansa, Miño, Segura, Tajo, and Turia in the Iberian Peninsula. The new species is distinguished from Gobio gobio by a combination of the following characters: 36-39 scales on the lateral line, 3 scales below the lateral line. The distance between the pectoral and ventral fins is greater than that between the ventral and anal fins (VAL/PVL≤0.8). The preorbital distance is short and the head is wide (ED/PrOL≥0.56; PrOL/HH≤0.69; PrOL/HW≤0.68). Divergence distances in cytochrome b between Gobio gobio and the new species are “p”=4.8-5.9%.