ISSN 20751117, Russian Journal of Biological Invasions, 2012, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 105–109. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2012.
Original Russian Text © B.A. Levin, H.R. Roubenyan, 2012, published in Rossiiskii Zhurnal Biologicheskikh Invasii, 2012, No. 1, pp. 39–45.
105
INTRODUCTION
The ichthyofauna of Armenia comprises fewer spe
cies than adjoining territories. Nevertheless, the
Armenian Transcaucasia attracts the attention of the
researchers because of the high degree of endemism
and localization of the fauna and owing to the poly
morphism of some taxonomic groups. The water bod
ies of Armenia belong to the Caspian Sea basin,
including the basin of alpine Lake Sevan. The studies
of ichthyofauna in Armenia started in the middle of
19th century (Dadikyan, 1986; Levin and Rubenyan,
2010). During the 20th century, the ichthyofauna of
Armenia changed significantly in composition owing
to the increase in anthropogenic load. Fish species
inhabiting other areas penetrated into the water bodies
of Armenia during accidental or intentional introduc
tion. The alteration of the environment (pollution,
regulation of available flow, changes in the water level,
etc.) led to the disappearance of some diadromous fish
and lamprey species (such as Caspian lamprey) and to
the disappearance of several intraspecific forms of
salmonids and cyprinids (for example, in Lake Sevan).
These changes are partly described in the publication
of Dadikyan (1986). Later studies (Gabrielyan, 2001;
Pipoyan and Tigranyan, 2002) add some data on the
ichthyofauna of the late 20th century. During the first
decade of the 21st century, the status of the aquatic
ecosystems of Armenia and their ichthyofauna has
changed significantly. In recent studies of the ichthy
ofauna, species new to Armenian water bodies were
found, as well as the naturalization of rare species
observed sporadically and long before. The study aims
to report on the new findings and to give the morpho
logical description of found species.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The fish were sampled in the Aras River, southeast
ern Armenia. The sampling was performed at the
influx of the Akera River in 2008 (39°08′36″N,
46°50′44″E), when the dam on the Aras River was
absent. In 2010, the sampling was performed close to
the site of 2008 (39°07′29″N, 46°48′46″E), when the
hydrological conditions were changed greatly owing to
dam construction upstream of Khudaferinskie
bridges, subsequent flooding of territories, and forma
tion of the reservoir (Fig. 1). The fish were sampled by
bagless bearch seine, scoop net, curtains, and nets of
various mesh size. The live snapshots were taken by
Sony DSCH2 and Olympus E420 digital cameras.
The measurements and calculations were performed
by the same researcher. The number of scales in the
lateral line (l.l.) from both the right and left sides and
the number of branches rays in dorsal fin (Db) and anal
fin (Ab) were counted. The last branched ray was
counted as one ray. Standard and total body lengths
were measured (SL and TL, respectively). In total,
eight specimens of Kura gudgeon Romanogobio mac
New Ichthyological Findings in Armenia
B. A. Levin
a, b
and H. R. Roubenyan
c
a
Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Yaroslavl oblast, 152742 Russia
email: borislyovin@mail.ru
b
Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 33, Moscow, 119071 Russia
c
Institute of Hydroecology and Ichthyology, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,
Paruyir Sevaki str. 7, Yerevan, 0014 Armenia
Received June 27, 2011
Abstract—Three new fish species were found in southeastern Armenia. The presence of Kura gudgeon
Romanogobio macropterus is reconfirmed after 80 years of absence. Kura roach Rutilus caspicus, Transcauca
sian white bream Blicca bjoerkna transcaucasica, and European pikeperch Sander lucioperca were found for
the first time. All three species were registered in Aras River. Kura gudgeon was caught in 2008 just before
flooding of the Aras Reservoir. The other two species were found during the period of flooding in 2010.
Attempts to find Kura gudgeon failed in the Aras River and its nearest tributaries in 2010 after damming and
change of the hydrological regime. Probably, penetration of the species from the lower reach of the Aras River
to the middle and upper reach became possible owing to subsequent appearance of a broad limnetic zone after
damming. Range expansion of widely distributed cyprinid species upstream may lead to the replacement and
even disappearance of local endemic forms, the Armenian roach Rutilus schelkovnikovi and the Armenian
white bream Blicca bjoerkna derjavini, which inhabit the Mezamor River and its tributaries.
DOI: 10.1134/S2075111712020063
Keywords: Transcaucasia, Aras River, damming, range expansion, fish