Romanogobio, Bănărescu, 1961

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 266

Romanogobio

The genus comprises 17 species native to the West Palearctic, with three species occurring in East Asia.Both species in West Asia and numerous European species can be distinguished from Gobio species by the presence of epithelial crests on the scales of the dorsal half of the body (vs. absence). In contrast, Romanogobio species exhibit a slenderer body than the Gobio species. Romanogobio persus and R. macropterus have long been treated as conspecifics, but morphological and molecular characters distinguish them well.They are related to European species found in adjacent rivers in the north, including R. ciscaucasicus from Dagestan, R. parvus from the Kuban, R. albipinnatus from the Volga, and R. tanaiticus from the Don. All but one species ( R. benacensis ) are a highly rheophilic inhabitant of large to very large rivers with fast-flowing waters. They are nocturnal bottom dwellers, often restricted to the rivers’ middle and deeper parts.