Salmo ohridanus

Salmo ohridanus, also known by the local name as the belvica in Northern Macedonia or belushka in Albania, is a species of freshwater salmonid fish, endemic to Lake Ohrid in Albania and North Macedonia.[2][1][3]

Salmo ohridanus
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Salmoniformes
Family:	Salmonidae
Genus:	Salmo
Species:	S. ohridanus
Binomial name
Salmo ohridanus Steindachner, 1892
Synonyms
Acantholingua ohridana Salmothymus ohridanus

Salmo ohridanus is a relatively small fish, usually shorter than 30 cm and less than 0.5 kg weight.[2] It is a commercially exploited species subject to heavy fishing, and has been bred in fish farms for over 50 years. It has also been intentionally hybridized with another endemic species, the Ohrid trout (Salmo letnica). It is threatened by the hybridization, degradation of water quality and overfishing; but the stock remains abundant.[1]

In earlier literature the belvica has variously been treated as belonging to suggested endemic genera Acantholingua and Salmothymus.[4][3] Genetic studies however indicate it is a good member of the genus Salmo, and closest to the softmouth trout Salmo obtusirostris.[5] Nevertheless, it is quite distinct from the brown trout complex.[3]

References

1. Crivelli, A.J. 2006. Salmo ohridanus. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.1 Downloaded on 19 May 2010.
2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Salmo ohridanus" in FishBase. February 2011 version.
3. Lake Ohrid trouts Balkan trout restoration group. Downloaded on 19 May 2010.
4. Eschmeyer W (2007) Acantholingua Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Downloaded on 19 May 2010.
5. Ales Snoj, Enver Melkic, Simona Susnik, Samir Muhamedagic et Peter Dovc (2002). DNA phylogeny supports revised classification of Salmothymus obtusirostris. In Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 19 August 2002, 77, 399 – 411.