A new species of chub has been described from northeastern Spain and southern France by scientists from Spain and Switzerland.
The description of Squalius laietanus new species in a paper by Ignacio Doadrio, Maurice Kottelat and Adolfo de Sostoa is published in the most recent issue of the journal Ichthyological exploration of Freshwaters.
The new species is known from the Ebro to Port Bou drainages in Spain and the Tech and Agly drainages in France.
According to the authors, it differs from other western European chub in having ...a slightly subinferior mouth, with a slightly projecting upper lip and the tip of the lower jaw enclosed in the upper lip; flank scales margined by a band of black pigments along their free margin, forming a regular reticulate pattern; brown pigments on the inner area of the scales, more densely set on the upper and lower extremity of the exposed part, the pigment patches often appearing as faint longitudinal stripes between scale rows; and no or little marked discontinuity between the dorsal profile of head and body...
Squalius laietanus has often been confused with the European Chub (S. cephalus " formerly Leuciscus cephalus), and typically inhabits streams with clear water and gravel bottom, preferring moderately flowing stretches.
The specific name comes from the Laietani, a Bronze-Age tribe that inhabited the region in which the type locality is situated.
For more information, see the paper: Doadrio, I, M Kottelat and A de Sostoa (2007) Squalius laietanus, a new species of cyprinid fish from north-eastern Spain and southern France (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 18, pp. 247"256.