Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni ( Kessler, 1877 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Eagderi, Soheil, Sungur, Sevil, Coad, Brian W & Hamdard, Mohammad Hamid, 2023, Fishes of Afghanistan; a revised and updated annotated checklist, Zootaxa 5305 (1), pp. 1-69 : 9

Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni ( Kessler, 1877)

[N]—Amu Darya shovelnose sturgeon

Taxonomy. Original description: Scaphirhynchus kaufmanni Kessler, 1877: 194 [Lower Amu-Darya River, Uzbekistan; syntypes: SPSU uncat. (1), ZIN 2707 (1, lost), ZMMU P-1456 (1)].— Afghanistan synonyms: None.—Revisions: Berg (1948: 104).—Illustration: Berg (1948: 106–108, figs. 80–84).

Status in Afghanistan. First record from Afghanistan by Berg (1948: 104); confirmed by Coad (1981: 8; 2014: 111; 2015: 227).—Afghanistan materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Afghanistan: Panj River (Amu Darya River system, into Aral Sea).— General distribution: Eastern Europe.—Habitat: The species occurs in the turbid waters of rivers with fast-flowing turbulent currents and sandy or rock-gravel substrates at depths of up to two meters in highly turbulent waters. Although it is a freshwater species, it can tolerate low salinities, as it was previously found in the river mouth area of the Aral Sea. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation status in Afghanistan: Unknown.—IUCN: CR ( Mugue & Karimov 2022b).—Threats: FIT, TOU, CON, EUT, CLI.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.—High priority for conservation action.