Radek Sanda

• Ph.D.
• National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic

Interspecific gene flow may profoundly impact genome integrity and adaptive evolution in hybridizing species, leading to novelties such as transgressive traits, supergenes, or, sometimes, the emergence of asexually reproducing lineages. Conventionally, introgression is thought to proceed between reproductively interacting species, mediated by recom...

The distribution of the neutral component of genetic diversity is the interplay of historical and ongoing processes resulting in the species-specific genetic structure of populations, which can, however, be disrupted by interspecific hybridisation and introgression. In this study, we focused on two species of water frogs, Pelophylax epeiroticus and...

During their radiation, certain groups of animals evolved significant phenotypic disparity (morphological diversity), enabling them to thrive in diverse environments. Adaptations to the same type of environment can lead to convergent evolution in function and morphology. However, well-documented examples in repeated adaptations of teleost fishes to...

In the inland waters of the Balkans, many brown trout populations have been severely depleted. Therefore, identifying potential threats to their continued survival and ranking populations based on their biological and evolutionary importance enables setting conservation priorities. To assess the sustainability of the brown trout populations in the...

Artificial propagation and stocking of brown trout is a standard practice in recreational fishery management. In recent decades, the importance of maintaining intraspecific diversity and protecting locally adapted lineages has been recognized for the species' long-term survival. The first step in selecting donors for stocking involves distinguishin...

Nouvelles données pour l'espèce récemment décrite Pomatoschistus nanus Engin & Seyhan, 2017 (Teleostei : Gobii-dae). de nouvelles données sur le gobie Pomatoschistus nanus engin & Seyhan, 2017 récemment décrit de Méditerranée sont présentées. L'espèce est identifiée grâce à la génétique, la morphologie et la coloration. Les données de Malte et de C...

Simple Summary The old world killifish Aphanius fasciatus is a typical inhabitant of transition waters along the coasts of the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea, where it lives in environments (salt ponds, estuaries, and coastal lagoons) with large variations in salt, oxygen, and temperature. Therefore, A. fasciatus could be an interesting non-...

In the current contexts of development and state of the Anthropocene, ecological sustainability of freshwater ecosystems cannot be dissociated from socio-economic challenges and therefore entails policy framework, planning, and management. The general purpose of this chapter is to underline the fish resources of inland waters and fisheries in Alban...

Pumpkin seed, Lepomis gibbosus L., is a native fish species to the eastern North America and is introduced to Europe freshwaters during the late nineteenth century and now appears to be wide spread in numerous countries. During the last two decades, the species spread rapidly into the Albanian inland water bodies. The distribution and abundance of...

Despite being one of the most speciose fish families in the Mediterranean Sea, knowledge about the diversity of gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) in this sea is still unsatisfactory, as documented by recent descriptions of a number of new species. Although very common in shallow water, Gobius incognitus Kovačić & Šanda, 2016, had escaped attention...

We report on the first established population of the Rhodes minnow, Ladigesocypris ghigii (Leuciscidae), endemic to Rhodes Island, introduced to a river near Athens, Greece. When it was first noticed, in 2017, the species was misidentified due to its morphological similarity to Pelasgus marathonicus, the only native leuciscid of the streams and riv...

Due to the absence of relevant data on the species distribution and ploidy status of the Carassius species, we analysed samples from the river basins of Slovakia. We processed 252 individuals belonging to the genus Carassius originating from 60 localities (59 from the Danube River basins, and 1 from the Vistula River basin). Fin clips were collecte...

The high diversity of extant gobiids (Gobiidae: Teleostei) makes taxonomic and phylogenetic interpretation of fossil members of the clade a difficult task. To facilitate future taxonomic and systematic work on the group, we have assembled a morphological reference database encompassing skeletal characters, an otolith atlas and otolith morphometric...

The genus Pelophylax (water frogs) includes relatively common, widely distributed, and even invasive species, but also endemic taxa with small ranges and limited knowledge concerning their ecology and evolution. Among poorly studied species belong endemics of the southwestern Balkans, namely Pelophylax shqipericus, P. epeiroticus and P. kurtmueller...

To elucidate the historical biogeography of a species, the patterns of population divergence must be understood, and the evolutionary history of the species must be accurately known. For brown trout ( Salmo trutta complex), estimating divergence times remains a challenge due to the lack of well-defined time calibration points and insufficient phylo...

Diplozoidae are common monogenean ectoparasites of cyprinoid fish, with the genus Paradiplozoon being the most diversified. Despite recent studies on Diplozoidae from Europe, Africa and Asia, the diversity, distribution and phylogeny of this parasite group appears to be still underestimated in the Middle East. The objective of this study was to inv...

In this article, we provide an updated list of freshwater fishes in Albania for each sub-basin. The distribution data and taxa-lists presented are based on a literature review up to October 2022 and intensive fieldwork conducted in the last 15 years. Distributional records of 101 fish species (deriving from 25 families) in 11 different sub-basins a...

Loaches of the genus Sabanejewia are model organisms for many ichthyologic studies focusing on morphological and colour variation. The bright lateral spots—a part of the mimicry of this fish—cause a taxonomic puzzle. Common practice is that morphometric and molecular studies lack habitat assessments of species originating from different environment...

Marine species exhibiting wide distributional ranges are frequently subdivided into discrete genetic units over limited spatial scales. This is often due to specific life-history traits or oceanographic barriers that prevent gene flow. Fine-scale sampling studies revealed distinct phylogeographic patterns in the northeastern Atlantic and the Medite...

Host-parasite coevolution is one of the fundamentals of evolutionary biology. Due to the intertwined evolutionary history of two interacting species and reciprocal coadaptation processes of hosts and parasites, we can expect that studying parasites will shed more light onto the evolutionary processes of their hosts. Monogenea (ectoparasitic Platyhe...

Sabanejewia romanica was recorded for the first time on the territory of Serbia in three direct tributaries of the Danube River (Rečka River, Slatinska River and Zamna River). This is the first record of the species outside Romania, the westernmost point of its occurrence and the first verified record of the species from the right tributaries of th...

The suborder Gobioidei is among the most diverse groups of vertebrates, comprising about 2310 species. In the fossil record gobioids date back to the early Eocene (c. 50 m.y. ago), and a considerable increase in numbers of described species is evident since the middle Miocene (c. 16 m.y. ago). About 40 skeleton-based gobioid species and > 100 otoli...

The genus Telestes primarily comprises freshwater fish distributed mostly in the Mediterranean area. Recent investigation of the evolutionary history of this genus revealed that it originated in southern Europe, where the most ancient Telestes species are still present. The isolation of rivers in the karstic region facilitated allopatric speciation...

In brown trout, instances of genetic homogenization after introducing hatchery-reared allochthonous Atlantic strains are well documented. Therefore, mitigation-driven translocation with autochthonous lineages is gaining support. However, when the origin of local donor populations is not clear they should be genetically characterized prior to transl...

In fish, species identity can be encoded by sounds, which have been thoroughly investigated in European gobiids (Gobiidae, Gobius lineage). Recent evolutionary studies suggest that deterministic and/or stochastic forces could generate acoustic differences among related animal species, though this has not been investigated in any teleost group to da...

The genus Aulopyge, represented by a single species, the Dalmatian barbelgudgeon, Aulopyge huegelii, is an endemic genus with very restricted distribution range comprising several rivers in southern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this study, molecular genetic analyses based on three molecular markers (one nuclear and two mitochondrial) were...

Previous studies on the phylogenetic relationships between lamprey species relied either on a low number of morphological characters related to the feeding apparatus, or on a low number of molecular mitochondrial DNA markers. Here, we apply a multilocus approach to assess the phylogenetic relationships of northern hemisphere lampreys, with a specia...

Background Understanding the interplay between climate and current and historical factors shaping genetic diversity is pivotal to infer changes in marine species range and communities’ composition. A phylogeographical break between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean has been documented for several marine organisms, translating into limited dispersa...

The Balkans are one of the European biodiversity hotspots, hosting outstandingly rich, yet threatened, flora and fauna. This region hosts one of the richest endemic freshwater ichthyofauna in Europe, including several genera occurring exclusively here. One of these is the genus of the primary freshwater minnows Pelasgus, which was designated only i...

The gobies (Gobiidae) are the most diverse fish family in the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, knowledge on their diversity, taxonomy, and phylogenetic relationships is still inadequate. The phylogenetic analyses reveal two genetically highly distinct clades among specimens identified as Zebrus zebrus . A new species, Zebrus pallaoroi sp. nov., is...

The Adriatic Sea and Adriatic Sea drainage system (or Adriatic region) is characterized by high levels of species richness. This especially applies to endemic fishes, as exemplified by the sand gobies. However, the diversity of this group is probably still underestimated. Several keys for gobiid identification, notably of the Adriatic region, have...

Gobius xoriguer sp. nov., a new offshore species of goby (Teleostei: Gobiidae: Gobiinae) is described based on three specimens collected in 2010, 2012 and 2018 in the western Mediterranean, off Menorca (Spain), in the Gulf of Lion and off Corsica (France), at 51–104 m depth on coralline algae sea bed. It is easily distinguishable from its Atlantic-...

Coastal lagoons are resilient and productive ecosystems that support high biological and habitat diversity, but are increasingly affected by several threats due to human exploitation. Many resident species of these areas show a restricted geographical range and a strict association with specific habitat, thus they could represent ecological indicat...

The discrimination between the several species of the genus Actinia occurring in the Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean has been made analyzing morphological characters, with emphasis on external coloration patterns and morphology of cnidom structures. In Iberia, the occurrence of more than two species of Actinia has been suggested, but its va...

The southernmost part of Albania, the Butrinti Lake area is characterised by a highly diverse freshwater fish community with a high degree of regional endemism. This study focuses on the Corfu killifish (or toothcarp) Valencia letourneuxi (Sauvage, 1880) that is endemic to the western part of the Ionian Ecoregion, and reported in Albania in the pas...

Gobies (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) are the most species-rich family of fishes in general, and the most abundant fish group in the European seas. Nonetheless, our knowledge on many aspects of their biology, including the population genetic diversity, is poor. Although barriers to gene flow are less apparent in the marine environment, the ocean is not a...

Fish assemblages and their distributions in the western Balkan rivers have rarely been investigated. This study provides initial insights into the spatial patterns of fish distributions in the main-stem of the White Drin in Kosovo. Sampling primarily utilized back-pack electrofishing at 11 sites along the river's entire main stem, recording 21 spec...

Pelasgus Kottelat & Freyhof 2007 (Leuciscidae) is a freshwater fish genus endemic to the Southern Balkans. The distribution of most of its species is insufficiently known. Pelasgus was molecularly studied only marginally, and the genetic diversity of individual species or populations, crucial for their conservation, is completely unknown. We studie...

The diversification of Mediterranean fish appears to be far more complex than could be explained by a single dispersion model. Cyprinids represent one of the most species-rich groups of freshwater fishes living in this region. The current distribution of several highly divergent cyprinid taxa is most likely the result of multiple dispersion events....

Gobies (Gobiidae + Oxudercidae) are among the largest groups of extant marine fishes. Fossils of gobies are abundant since the Miocene, and many species have been reported so far. However, delimitation of fossil goby species is challenging because molecular markers and diagnostic traits such as the disposition of sensory head papillae are lost. Thi...

Western vairone Telestes souffia (Risso, 1827) is a small-sized leuciscine species inhabiting rivers in Mediterranean, North and Black Sea drainages. Due to the lack of information on its occurrence in the waters of Serbia, there is a need for renewing knowledge about its geographical range. The new record of a population of T. souffia in Gračanica...

Western vairone Telestes souffia (Risso, 1827) is a small-sized leuciscine species inhabiting rivers in Mediterranean, North and Black Sea drainages. Due to the lack of information on its occurrence in the waters of Serbia, there is a need for renewing knowledge about its geographical range. The new record of a population of T. souffia in Gračanica...

The epicontinental fauna of the Iberian Peninsula is strongly influenced by its geographical history. As the possibilities for dispersion of organisms into and from this region were (and still are) limited, the local fauna consists almost exclusively of endemic species. Almost all Iberian freshwater fishes of the families Leuciscidae and Cyprinidae...

Along the advantage of molecular genetic methods within the zoological research an increased need of methodical guide that summarizes all the essential information appeared including instructions about sampling of biological material from different kind of organisms and following molecular analysis. In the first part of this guide, proper collecti...

This critical catalogue from the “The Age of Genes” exhibition presents readers with the comprehensive development of molecular phylogenetic and taxonomic research conducted at the National Museum. The reader will thus become acquainted with the Natural History Museum, which is part of the National Museum, and within which modern molecular genetic...

The study of host–parasite coevolution is one of the cornerstones of evolutionary biology. The majority of fish ectoparasites belonging to the genus Dactylogyrus (Monogenea) exhibit a high degree of host specificity. Therefore, it is expected that their evolutionary history is primarily linked with the evolutionary history of their cyprinoid fish h...

Two new populations of the European mudminnow ( Umbra krameri Walbaum, 1792) were discovered in the Sava River system, one in its middle part (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and the other in a tributary to the Kupa River (Croatia). The Croatian population is the most upstream mudminnow discovery in the Sava River system known to date. The genetic structur...

The northern pike, Esox lucius, is one of the largest temperate freshwater apex predators with a characteristic morphology: an elongated body with pelvic, dorsal, and anal fins located at the rear as a functional feature to sprint predation. However, the typical pike character is its head, which is characterized by a long, flattened snout, a well‐a...

It was reported that the complex geological history of the southern Balkans caused diversification of terrestrial species. On the other hand, knowledge of the evolutionary history of freshwater biota is scarce. In order to contribute to an understanding of the historical biogeography of the region’s freshwaters, as well as to describe intraspecific...

We collected trout (by electrofishing) from five localities, representing three independent river basins in 2015 and 2016. Seventy-four specimens of trout (Salmo spp.) were fin-clipped. Our extensive electrofishing surveys show that trout are present in approximately 55 km of streams on the Troodos massif. We used sequence analysis of the mitochond...

Northern Mediterranean region is characterised by an exceptional richness of the freshwater ichthyofauna. Many fish species of this region are endemic to a single or a few river basins. This is also the case of the Neretva river basin (Adriatic Sea slope), where 17 out of 34 native species are endemic solely to this river basin. However, these uniq...

The taxonomic information inscribed in otoliths has been widely ignored in ichthyological research, especially in descriptions of new fish species. One reason for this is that otolith descriptions are per se qualitative, and only a few studies have presented quantitative data that can support assignments of otoliths to individual species or permit...

Many of the earlier studies, which discussed the morphology and phylogenetic relationship of the genus Sabanejewia, provided only a description of the specimens’ habitat variables. In the present study we analysed Sabanejewia specimens belonging to the Danubian-Balkanian complex from museum collections including also individuals of S. balcanica and...

South-east Europe, along with the adjacent region of south-west Asia, is an important biodiversity hotspot with high local endemism largely contributed by contemporary continental lineages that retreated to southern refugia during colder Quaternary periods. We investigated the genetic diversity of the European bitterling fish (Rhodeus amarus) speci...

Based on a combination of intensive fieldwork for a period of thirteen years (2004– 2017), literature review and review of museum specimens, we hereby provide an updated checklist of the fishes of Albanian part of River Vjosa. Our results show that there are at least 31 species of fishes inhabiting the river system, of which 27 are native, includin...

Parasites exhibiting a high degree of host specificity are expected to be intimately associated with their hosts. Therefore, the evolution of host-specific parasites is at least partially shaped by the evolutionary history and distribution of such hosts. Gill ectoparasites of Dactylogyrus (Monogenea) are specific to cyprinid fish. In the present st...

The phylogenetic relationships and classification of the freshwater fish order Cypriniformes, like many other species-rich groups of vertebrates, has evolved over time with some consistency and inconsistencies of relationships across various studies. Within Cypriniformes, the Holarctic family Leuciscidae is one of the most widely distributed and hi...

The genus Atyaephyra de Brito Capello, 1867 consists of seven species, which are distributed in Europe, Asia Minor and northern Africa. Four of them occur on the Balkan Peninsula, which is known as one of the global diversity and endemism hotspots for freshwater fauna. Atyaephyra thyamisensis Christodoulou, Antoniou, Magoulas & Koukouras, 2012 has...

Gobiidae (Gobiiformes, Teleostei) is among the largest families of vertebrates. These fishes are distributed worldwide and contribute significantly to species diversity in marine habitats and reefs. However, their fossil record is sparse prior to the Miocene and little is known about the course of diversification of the clade. Here we report except...

In order to better understand the complex geologic history of the Mediterranean area, we have analysed evolutionary history, phylogeographic structure and molecular diversity of freshwater fishes belonging to the genus Telestes. As primary freshwater fishes distributed largely in the Mediterranean basin, this genus represents a suitable model syste...

Until recently all the Alburnoides populations of the Macedonia-Thessaly and Western Aegean ecoregions were considered as Alburnoides bipunctatus thessalicus Stephanidis, 1950. Here a new species of spirlin, Alburnoides economoui, is described from the Spercheios River (Fthiotida Prefecture). It is distinguished from all other congeners in Greek ri...

Although the introduction of the crayfish plague pathogen Aphanomyces astaci to Europe is responsible for substantial declines in native crayfish populations throughout the whole continent, its presence has never been officially confirmed in many European regions, including most of the Balkan Peninsula. We demonstrate that the recent crayfish morta...

The new zoological exposition of the National Museum will be installed in eight exhibition halls on the second floor of the Historical Building. The exposition has the preliminary title Evolution and thematically, it will follow several significant evolutionary events, which enabled animals to occupy Earth. The first two exhibition halls will be de...

The knowledge on the distribution of native and non-native crayfish species in Europe has substantially advanced during last two decades. However, data on the exact distribution of European crayfish are still lacking in some regions of the Balkan Peninsula, e.g., in Albania. Out of five European crayfish taxa, Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius t...

The genetic structure of European mudminnow populations throughout the species range was examined using mitochondrial DNA and seven microsatellite loci. Ten mitochondrial haplotypes were detected, suggesting three phylogeographic lineages, which likely diverged during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. These three lineages geographically correspond...

The aim of this work was to identify the newly discovered population of Knipowitschia from southern Albania using molecular methods. Samples were collected from the Butrint Lagoon catchment with seine nets. Mitochondrial cytochrome b and nuclear ribosomal protein gene (S7) were analyzed. A nuclear marker was used for the first time to study relatio...

The objectives of this study were to gain a new understanding of the morphology of four endemic Delminichthys species, to determine the presence of morphological differences among populations and species, and to reveal reductive characters that might be connected with underground migrations. Morphometric and meristic characters were measured and st...

Hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting are common confounding factors in phylogeny and speciation resulting in mitonuclear disparity. Mitochondrial introgression, a particular case of hybridization, may, in extreme cases, lead to replacement of the mitochondrial genome of one species with that of another (mitochondrial capture). We investigat...

Table A. Additional species used in phylogenetic performance. GenBank accession numbers and labels in phylogenetic trees. Table B. Evolutionary models estimated by jModelTest for the three analysed genes. Table C. Autapomorphies in the three analysed genes. * transversions. (DOCX)

The Corfu dwarf goby, Knipozvitschia goerneri, known only from the Korission Lagoon catchment on Kerkyra Island (Greece), was described in 1991 on the only existing material, consisting of five specimens. It has not been observed since 1983, and was thought to be possibly extinct. In 2014, we collected nine specimens of K. goerneri from Korission L...

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Greek nine-spined stickleback Pungitius hellenicus was obtained using Illumina high-throughput sequencing of genomic DNA. The genome was 16 713 bp long, and contained 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, 2 rRNA genes and a control region. The arrangement of the genes was identical to that of other Gastero...

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Ukrainian nine-spined stickleback Pungitius platygaster was obtained using massive parallel sequencing of genomic DNA. The mitogenome sequence was 16 570 bp long, and the gene order and contents were identical to those of other sequenced Pungitius mitogenomes. In a phylogenetic analysis, the mitogenome of P....

A new species of the gobiid genus Gobius (Gobiidae, Perciformes), Gobius incognitus sp. nov. is described from the Mediterranean Sea, and its most morphologically similar species Gobius bucchichi is redescribed. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by: scales in lateral series 51-59; predorsal scales 25-35; opercle scaled in adults w...

As legislation, research and management of invasive alien species (IAS) are not fully coordinated across countries or different stakeholder groups, one approach leading to more or less standardized activities is based on producing lists of prominent IAS that attain high level of concern and are a subject of priority monitoring and management. These...

Species identification in sea anemones requires, in most situations, morphological analysis of cnidom structures of preserved individuals. However, in the genus Actinia, several species were described in the last years based on genetic analysis using allozimes. Recently, the sequencing of selected genes allowed the identification of two distinct ge...