Scardinius racovitzai

Scardinius racovitzai
Conservation status
Extinct in the Wild  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Leuciscidae
Genus:	Scardinius
Species:	S. racovitzai
Binomial name
Scardinius racovitzai G. J. Müller, 1958

Scardinius racovitzai, Racovitza's rudd, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related fishes. This species is extinct in the wild and was formerly endemic to Romania.

Taxonomy

Scardinius racovitzai was first formally described in 1958 by the Romanian biologist Geza Julius Müller with its type locality given as Thermal pond Petzea, near Oradea, tributary of Crișul Repede in western Romania. ^[2] This species belongs to the genus Scardinius , commonly referred to as rudds, which belongs to the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae. ^[3]

Etymology

Scardinius racovitzai belongs to the genus Scardinius and this name is thought to be a latinisation of scardafa, a vernacular name in Italy, Rome in particular, for the Tiber rudd ( Scardinius scardafa ). The Specific name is an eponym and honours the Romanian cave biologist and zoologist Emil G. Racovitza, to mark the tenth anniversary of his death. ^[4]

Distribution

Scardinius racovitzai was endemic to one small lake fed by a geothermal spring near Oradea in Bihor County in northwestern Romania. This lake is known locally as Pețea or Ochiul Mare and is located in the upper reaches of the Peța River, a minor left-bank tributary of the Crișul Repede River in the upper Tisza River system. Captive populations of this s[ecies are held in instututions in Hungary, Czechia and Austria. ^[1]

Extinction

Scardinius racovitzai inhabited one densely vegetated lake fed by a hot spring, this lake dried up completely in 2014 and this species became extinct in the wild at that point. The lake had been drying up for a long time as due to water abstraction, pollution was also a factor in the degradation of the habitat. ^[1]

Sources

1. Ford, M. (2024). "Scardinius racovitzai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024: e.T19948A137328770. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T19948A137328770.en . Retrieved 6 March 2025.
2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Scardinius". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 19 April 2025.
3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Leuciscinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 19 April 2025.
4. Christopher Scharpf (8 April 2024). "Family LEUCISCIDAE: Subfamily LEUCISCINAE Bonaparte 1835 (European Minnows)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 19 April 2025.