The Distribution and Origins of Freshwater Fishes in the Balkan Peninsula, Especially in Greece

Zoogeography of freshwater fish fauna of the Balkan peninsula south of the Danube has been studied. Four main divisions ‐ Ponto‐Aegean, Attiko‐Beotia, Dalmatia and South Adriatic‐Ionian ‐ were recognized. All endemics belong to European, Euro‐Siberian or Palaearctic taxa, originated from ancestors of the Euro‐Siberian stock and reached the area as well as Asia Minor in Oligocene or Miocene. Central European and Danubian species are intruders of late Pliocene to Pleistocene arriving by the freshened Black Sea and its drainage basin or directly from the North (Middle Danube) by river captures.