Leucos aula
{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Rutilus aula.jpg
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Leucos aula
| display_parents = 3
| authority = (Bonaparte, 1841)
| synonyms = {{Specieslist
| Squalius aulus | Bonaparte, 1841
| Rurilus aulus | (Bonaparte, 1841)
| Squalius elatis | Bonaparte, 1841
| Leuciscus altus | Valenciennes, 1844
| Leuciscus pagellus | De Filippi, 1844
| Leuciscus pauperum | de Filippi, 1844
| Leuciscus scardinus | de Filippi, 1844
| Leucis rubellicus | Bonaparte, 1845
| Leucos cispalpinus | Heckel, 1851
}}
| synonyms_ref = {{Cof genus|genus=Leucos|access-date=31 March 2025}}
| range_map = Areale Rutilus Aula.png
}}
Leucos aula, the North Italian roach, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which in cludes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species.{{cite journal|author=Bianco, P.G. |author2= Ketmaier, V. |name-list-style=& |year=2014|title= A revision of the Rutilus complex from Mediterranean Europe with description of a new genus, Sarmarutilus, and a new species, Rutilus stoumboudae (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)|journal=Zootaxa|volume= 3841 |issue=3|pages= 379–402}} This species is found in the river systems draining into Adriatic basin in southern Europe.{{FishBase|Leucos|aula|month=February|year=2025}}
Taxonomy
Leucis aula was first formally described as Squalius aulus in 1841 by the French art collector and biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte with its type locality given as the Province of Venice in Italy. It is now classified as a valid species in the genus Leucos within the subfamily Leuciscinae of the family Leuciscidae, being the type species of that genus.{{Cof family|family=Leuciscinae|access-date=10 April 2025}}
Etymology
Leucos aula is the type species of the genus Leucos, this name is derived from the Greek leukos which means "white", the genus was named by Johann Jakob Heckel and he did not explain why he chose this name, it may be that it refers to the silvery colour of Squalius aula. The specific name, aula, was not explained by Bonaparte but it may be a latinisation of avola the Italian or Venezian name for a bleak but which may have been applied to this species too.{{cite web |url=https://etyfish.org/leuciscinae/ |title=Family LEUCISCIDAE: Subfamily LEUCISCINAE Bonaparte 1835 (European Minnows)|author=Christopher Scharpf |date=8 April 2024 |access-date=10 April 2025 |work=The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database |publisher=Christopher Scharpf}}
Description
Leucos aula has its dorsal and anal fins each supported by 12 soft rays. It can be distinguished from all other species in the genus Leucos by a band along the lateral line and a shorter head. Within Italy this species can be distinguished by commonly having {{fraction|9|1|2}} branched rays in the dorsal and anal fins. It also has between 36 and 42, typically 38 or 39 scales in the lateral line. The mouth is subterminal, the pelvic, pectoral and anal fins are greyish and the eye is red in life. There is an obvious dark brown midlateral stripe runniong from the eye to the base of the tail. The North Italian roach has a maximum total length of {{cvt|26|cm}}.
Distribution and habitat
Leucos aula is found in rivers draining into the northern Adriatic Sean, extending from the Esino River in the Marche region of Italy to the Raša River in Istria County in Croatia. There are a few isolated populations further south in Croatia in Zadar County, including Lake Veliko on the island of Pag, in at least two short coastal streams in Ravni Kotari near the city of Zadar, and may also be found in the Lake Vrana basin. In Italy the North Albania roach has been introduced to the south of its natural range to rivers draining the into the Ligurian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea where it is considered invasive. This species has also become naturalised in at least one reservoir in Sardinia.
The North Italian roach is found in slow moving river stretches, lakes and ponds, mostly in the lowlands but it can be found in perialpine lakes within the Po River drainage in Italy and Switzerland. This species is frequently associated with submerged vegetation, and frequently colonises reservoirs and drainage channels.