Şugău Gorges

The Cheile Bicazului-Hăşmaş National Park (Bicaz Gorges - Hăşmaş Mountain) is located in north-eastern Romania, in the Eastern Carpathians. The reservation territory is part of Neamţ and Harghita counties. The parks area of 6575 ha is divided into two zones: the special conservation zone (78%), and the protection zone (22%). On the territory of the National Park there are some natural reserves, such as Şugău Gorges.

True open-air museum, Şugău Gorges Natural Reserve is located at the southern edge of Munticelu Massif and can be individualized with a unique landscape and an exceptional natural heritage. Şugău River has carved 350 m long gorges, very narrow (2-3 m wide), and forms a row of waterfalls.

The reserve has a surface of 90 ha; the coordinates of its center are 46gr 51’ N and 25gr 48’E and its highest point has an altitude of 1381 m (Munticelu-Şugău Rock Crest).

The reserve represents an exceptional natural site due to the uniqueness of available natural heritage. Its geology is extremely interesting in terms of tectonic-structural (fractures, tectonic contacts, blades of over-thrust), paleontological (Mesozoic fossils) and petrographic (accumulations of tuff, travertine, limestone of different ages).

The gorges are spectacular due to the reference landscape elements (limestone and karst terrain, vertical walls, limestone towers, narrow gorges, marmite erosion, caves, avens, springs, sinkholes, karst saddles, clints), flora (endemic species, sub-alpine meadows developed on limestone, calcareous screes and slopes specific vegetation, forests of Pinus sylvestris - glacier relic), fauna (chamois, lynx, wild cats, bats, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, mollusks) and characterized by rarity or uniqueness.

The Natural Reserve was declared Site of Community Importance under European legislation and will be integrated into the international network of protected areas Natura 2000. Custodian of the protected area is a Romanian Mountain Club (led by Ticu Lăcătuşu), with administrative headquarters in ECOLOGIC Chalet.

Living National Treasures

Endemic snails known solely from Romania include:

Cochlodina marisi (Pfeiffer, 1868)
Clausiliidae - Gastropoda
Shell horny yellowish to horny brown, thin, almost smooth, very shiny, 11-12 whorls, cerxix rounded, cervical callus strong and reddish yellow, apertural margin connected at parietal side but not detached, white, parietalis oblique and reaching margin, columellaris moderate, 3-4 palatal folds.
Size: 14-19 x 3-4.2 mm
Distribution: SW Romania

Alopia (Kimakowiczia) maciana (Bădărău & Szekeres, 2001)
Clausiliidae - Gastropoda
Shell dark brown with violet hue, ribbed, 8-10 moderately convex whorls with white suture, cervix rounded, aperture detached, margin broad and light yellowish, parietalis weak, reaching short spiralis inside, columellaris strong, principalis very short, upper palatalis weak and very short if present at all, no lunula, sometimes a very weak basalis, subcolumellaris not visible in a perpendicular view.
Size: 13.8-17.1 x 3.4-3.8 mm
Distribution: Cluj County, Gilău-Muntele Mare Mountains, only known from one locality.

Mastus venerabilis (Pfeiffer, 1853)
Enidae - Gastropoda
Shell sinistral, olive horny brown, first 5 whorls 1/4 of shell height, last whorl 1/3 of shell height, angular tooth present.
Size: 17-22 x 7-9 mm
Distribution: S Carpathians, Transylvania

Source: AnimalBase
Photos: F. Welter Schultes

Centaurea pugioniformis

Centaurea pugioniformis is a plant that can be found only in Romania, is endemic in several areas of the country. Centaurea is a genus of at least some 500 to 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Common names for this genus are starthistles, knapweeds, centaureas and the more ambiguous "bluets". "Cornflowers" is used for a few species, including Centaurea pugioniformis.



Images from My Nature
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Spermatophyta
Class: Dicotyledones
Division: Magnoliophyta Magnoliophytina
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Centaurea
Species: pugioniformis
Scientific name: Centaurea pugioniformis E.I.Nyarady

Isophya dobrogensis

Another unique, protected species specific to Romania is a sort of locust, grig. Isophya dobrogensis is endemic and can be found only on Popina Island, Razelm-Sinoe Lagoon Complex, Dobruja, Southeastern Romania. The island spans 98 hectares and it is a protected reserve.


Image from My Nature
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia - animals
Phylum: Arthropoda - Arthropods
Class: Insecta - Insects
Order: Orthoptera
Family: Tettigonioidea
Genus: Isophya
Specific name: dobrogensis - Kis 1994
Scientific name: - Isophya dobrogensis Kis 1994

The species was described in 1960 by Kis Béla (1924-2003).

Cottus transsilvaniae

Cottus is a genus of the sculpin family Cottidae. It is often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as the principle genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water. They are mostly small fish, rarely reaching more than 15 cm in length. A recently described sculpin is Cottus transsilvaniae (Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005), a species endemic to Romania.



Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Cottus
Species: Cottus transsilvaniae

Size / Weight / Age: Max length : 9.7 cm SL male/unsexed;
Environment: Benthopelagic; freshwater
Climate / Range: Temperate
Distribution: Europe: Danube basin in Romania. Found only in the upper river Argeş. May occur in other tributaries of lower Danube.
Short description:
Anal soft rays: 12 - 13. Can be distinguished from other species of Cottus in the Danube drainage by the combination of the following characters: dorsal head length 19-20% SL; 12-13 1/2 anal-fin rays; 18-19 1/2 rays in second dorsal fin; predorsal length 29-30% SL; distance from tip of snout to origin of second dorsal fin 47-50% SL; no distinct transverse bands on pelvic fin; no prickling on body.

Decumarellus sarbui

Decumarellus sarbui is the first cave genus belonging to the Tyrini in the whole world; such a genus of the Tyrini tribe has never been signaled in a cave. It lives in Movile Cave, near Mangalia, Constanţa County, Southeastern Romania. The species is endemic for the chemoautotrophically based groundwater ecosystem at Mangalia and unique in the world.

Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Staphyliniformia
Superfamily: Staphylinoidea
Family: Staphylinidae
Subfamily: Pselaphinae
Tribe: Tyrini
Genus: Decumarellus
Species: sarbui
Scientific name: Decumarellus sarbui Poggi, 1994

The genus Decumarellus is dedicated to the Romanian bio-speleologist Vasile Decu and at the same time reminds of the un-doubtful relationship with the genus Marellus. The species (sarbui) is dedicated to Romanian scientist Dr. Şerban M. Sârbu, from the Department of Biological Sciences of the Cincinnati University, USA.


Decumarellus sarbui shows the typical morphological adaptations to the live in caves. It might be the extreme result of the differentiation of a branch of the genus Marellus, which settled down in the hypogeus habitat and evolved independently, at least since the possibility of a link between the cave and the surface fauna came to a stop. According to the geological, hydrological and palaeo-geographical data, the isolation of the cave goes back to the end of Miocene (almost 5.5-5.2 millions of years ago) when the climate of the Southern Dobrogea got extremely dry in connection with the crisis of salinity from Messinian.

Sophrochaeta reitteri retezati

Sophrochaeta reitteri retezati (Mallász, 1928) is an unique round fungus beetle, rare and endemic, that lives in some caves in Southwestern Romania (Banat).

Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Staphyliniformia
Superfamily: Staphylinoidea
Family: Leiodidae
Subfamily: Cholevinae
Tribe: Leptodirini
Subtribe: Pholeuina
Genus: Sophrochaeta
Subgenus: Cernella
Species: reitteri
Subspecies: retezati

Sophrochaeta Reitter 1885 [genus]
Cernella Jeannel 1930 [subgenus]

Accepted name: Sophrochaeta (Cernella) reitteri retezati Mallász 1928


Image from Biodiversity Heritage Library

The rarest European fish

Romanichthys valsanicola is the scientific name of the fish known as the sculpin-perch, asprete, or Romanian darter, the only member of the Romanichthys genus of the fish family Percidae.


It was scientifically discovered and described in 1957 by the Romanian scientists M. Dumitrescu, P. Bănărescu and N. Stoica. Local names include: asprete, poprete, sforete. Endemic to a very restricted area in southern Romania, it was found in the upper reach of the Argeş river and in two of its tributaries: Râul Doamnei and Vâlsan. Due to hydrotechnical constructions and deterioration of its habitat, it survived only in the tributary Vâlsan. This species is an endangered freshwater fish and is found on the Red List of IUCN. Its area of distribution has drastically diminished and is now considered the European fish genus with the most restricted area.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Genus: Romanichthys
Species: R. valsanicola
Binomial name: Romanichthys valsanicola (Dumitrescu, Bănărescu & Stoica, 1957)

It is a small, grey-brownish fish, 10-12 cm long, covered with small, rough scales. Found in cold, clear, fast-flowing waters, hidden under rocks. Territorial. The time of reproduction is in May and June. It lays eggs on rocks. It feeds on insect aquatic larvae, mainly Plecoptera, Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera. (From Wikipedia)

Knipowitschia cameliae

Knipowitschia cameliae (Nalbant & Oţel, 1995) is an endemic marine fish, very rare, known only from the Danube Delta in the Black Sea.


Domain: Eukaryota - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
Kingdom: Animalia - Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
Subkingdom: Bilateria - (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
Branch: Deuterostomia - Grobben, 1908
Infrakingdom: Chordonia - (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
Phylum: Chordata - Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
Subphylum: Vertebrata - Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata - Auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
Superclass: Osteichthyes - Huxley, 1880 - Bony Fishes
Class: Actinopterygii - Huxley, 1880 - Ray-Finned Fishes
Subclass: Actinopterygii - Ray-Finned Fishes
Infraclass: Actinopteri
Cohort: Clupeocephala
Superorder: Acanthopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Gobioidei
Family: Gobiidae - Gobies
Genus: Knipowitschia - Iljin, 1927
Specific name: cameliae - Nalbant & Otel, 1995
Scientific name: - Knipowitschia cameliae Nalbant & Oţel, 1995

Etymology of Generic name: Because of N.M. Knipowitsch, a zoologist and Russian ichthyologist from the Academy of Sciences, who initiated expeditions in "Pomor" and "Pervosvanniy" ships to Azov and Black sea (1898-1908).

Max length : 3.1 cm (female)
Environment: demersal; brackish; marine
Climate / Range: Temperate
Vulnerability: Low vulnerability (10 of 100)
Distribution: Europe: Black Sea (Romania). Known from a single small lagoon near Portiţa, south of Danube Delta in the Goloviţa-Sinoe-Razelm lake complex.