Distribution of the Italian spring goby (Orsinigobius punctatissimus) in Lombardy

The Italian spring goby (Orsinigobius punctatissimus) is an endemic fish species closely associated to highly specific, irreplaceable and isolated habitats, such as springs and oxbow lakes of the Northern Italy. The distribution areal of this species ranges over the Po River basin in the padano-veneto zoogeographical district. Because of drought of springs, habitat loss or fragmentation, its population in freshwater ecosystems of Lombardy has been estimated to be decreased of the 70% compared to the last decades (Life_Gestire 2020). Thus, the Italian spring goby is considered by the Italian IUCN panel as a critically endangered fish species. However, the information on the presence, the distribution and the biology of this species is very limited because of the scarceness of monitoring activities performed in suitable habitats. For these reasons, the aim of this study is to monitor and to map the populations of the Italian spring goby in springs of the Lombardy. These data allow to shed light on the conservation status of the species, as well as to identify the ecological features, environmental and biological threats, allowing or precluding the establishment of viable populations.