Souffia
(Telestes souffia)
Classification
Max length : 25 TL; common length : 15 cm TL
Distribution
Europe:
Mediterranean basin from Aude to Var drainages (France, Switzerland); literature records from Tarn system [Garonne drainage] in fact refers to Hérault [each has a tributary named Dourbie];
Soca drainage in Italy and Slovenia;
Uppermost Rhine drainage in Germany and Switzerland;
Danube drainage in western tributaries of Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, and upper Tisza system (Romania, Ukraine).
Record from Aegean basin in Bulgaria based on misidentification of a possibly unnamed species. Introgression zone with Telestes muticellus in Var drainage (France) and Soca drainage (Slovenia, Italy).
Telestes souffia agassii is often applied to Danube and Rhine populations, but there is no published evidence that they differ from the Rhône populations. If justified, the correct name for a Danube-Rhine species would be Telestes rysela and not Telestes agassii. In Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna).