Softmouth Trout From The River Jadro - Salmo obtusirostris salonitana

Our initial field observations of Salmo obtusirostris from the rivers Jadro and Neretva, together with notes on their morphology (Karaman, 1927; Behnke, 1965), raised doubts concerning the evolutionary origin and taxonomic identity of the Jadro softmouth trout. In their external appearance, they show some resemblance to the brown trout from the Adriatic river basin. In the light of these observations, we sought to evaluate the evolutionary origin of the softmouth trout from the River Jadro.

All the Jadro softmouth trout were fixed for a brown trout mtDNA haplotype of the Adriatic lineage, which considerably differs from a previously described haplotype characteristic for the Neretva softmouth trout. All other genetic markers, as well as morphological analysis indicated a close relationship between the Jadro and Neretva softmouth trout, and supported their clear distinction from brown trout in the neighbouring populations, and thus a mtDNA capture event is assumed. Our results suggested that the Jadro softmouth trout likely evolved from ancient hybridisation between the softmouth and brown trout leading to a reticulate evolutionary pattern of mtDNA in this taxon.

Behnke, R. J., 1965. University of California, Berkeley, PhD thesis.
Karaman S., 1927. Bulletein de la Societé Scientifique de Skoplje 2: 253-268.