Salmo dentex is a variety of trout, a freshwater fish in the Salmonidae family, found in the western Balkans.^[1][2][3] The identity, biological dinstinctness and species status of the dentex trout are however not properly clarified.^[4] Salmo dentex is reported to inhabit the Neretva river and Hutovo Blato wetlands in Bosnia and Herzegovina,^[5] and is also found in Albania and Montenegro in Lake Skadar and its tributaries.^[6] It is reported that S. dentex is extinct from Croatian rivers, Cetina and Krka,^[7] but has recently bee reported by anglers from the Cetina river in Croatia. Some reports indicate its presence in the rivers of Livanjsko field in Bosnia and Herzegovina^[8] and in river Alfeios in Greece.^[9]

Salmo dentex, locally known as the zubatak, is poorly studied and its status has remained unclear due to lack of samples for detailed analyses, hybridisation with other trout lineages and diverse and multiple designations of the same trout in different areas. One of the inhabited areas, the Hutovo Blato wetlands, are situated in North West of the Neretva river estuary in southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is an atypical type of wetland, characterized by several shallow lakes and channels filled with clear and cold water (around 13°C whole year) creating conditions suitable also for salmonids.^[4]

Recent research suggests that S. dentex is phenotypically distinct yet genetically indistinct from marble trout of the lower Neretva.^[10]

References