Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner 1863

Freyhof, Jörg, Özuluğ, Müfit, Kaya, Cüneyt, Bayçelebi, Esra & Turan, Davut, 2018, Redescription of Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner, 1863, with comments on Alburnus sellal adanensis Battalgazi, 1944 (Teleostei: Leuciscidae), Zootaxa 4382 (3), pp. 573-582 : 575-578

Redescription of Alburnus kotschyi Steindachner 1863

Fig. 1 +3

Material examined. IUSHM 37900-253 , neotype, 79.2 mm SL; Turkey: Hatay prov.: stream Arsuz east of Arsuz , 36.399N 35.886E. — IUSHM 2017-1370 , 23, 44–110 mm SL; Turkey: stream Çelik between Gölbaşı and Pazarcık , 37.622N 37.503E. — IUSHM 2017-1371 , 45– 101 mm SL; Turkey: stream Çelik at road south of Gölbaşı , 37.623N 37.5034E. — FFR 0 4661, 31, 71–106 mm SL; Turkey : Hatay prov.: stream Arsuz at Hacıahmetli, 36.379N 35.930E. — FFR 0 4663, 27, 75–109 mm SL; Turkey: Osmaniye prov. : stream Karaçay at Yolçatı bridge, 37.061N 36.112E. — FFR 0 4665, 35, 49–94 mm SL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov. : stream Aksu at Pazarcık, 37.526N . 37.311E.— FFR 0 0 868, 57, 51–141 mm SL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov. : stream Terbüzek at southern Göksun, 38.001N 36.498E. — FFR 0 0 999, 12, 56–94 mm SL; Turkey: Adana prov. : stream Üçürge at western Çakallı, 37.189N 35.101E. — FFR 0 4664, 8, 50–91 mm SL; Turkey: Adana prov. : stream Üçürge at northern Karaisalı, 37.275N 35.061E. — FSJF 2901 , 9 , 72–111 mm SL; Turkey: Kahramanmaraş prov. : stream Sevdili 40 km east of Elbistan, 38.255N 37.533E.

Diagnosis. The diagnosis is based on material from Arsuz, Ceyhan and Seyhan Rivers. Alburnus kotschyi is similar to A. heckeli , A. sellal and A. timarensis by having a prominent dark-brown or dark-grey lateral stripe (vs. absent in A. baliki , A. caeruleus , A. qalilus and A. orontis which have a pattern of irregularly set and shaped grey blotches on silvery background). Except the colour pattern, A. kotschyi is distinguished from A. caeruleus by having a more slender body (body depth at dorsal-fin origin 21–26% of SL vs. 26–34%) and having less branched anal-fin rays (9½–11½ vs. 13½–17½) and the ventral keel exposed 3–10 scales in front of anus (vs. scaleless). Alburnus kotschyi is distinguished from A. orontis by having less branched anal-fin rays (9½–11½ vs. 12½–15½), the ventral keel exposed 3–10 scales in front of anus (vs. keel exposed 0–2 scales) and a soft last simple dorsal-fin ray (vs. stiff in A. orontis ). Alburnus kotschyi is distinguished from A. heckeli , A. sellal , A. tarichi and A. timarensis by having 49–59 total lateral line scales (vs. 77–93 in A. heckeli , 66–89 in A. sellal , 54–72 in A. timarensis , 70–93 in A. tarichi ) and 9–12 gill rakers on first gill arch (vs. 13–17 in A. timarensis ).

Description. See Figure 1 +3 for general appearance of the neotype (IUSHM 37900-253) and other individuals. Body elongate, compressed. Dorsal, ventral profiles convex. Head short, interorbital area convex. Mouth oblique, lower jaw slightly projecting beyond upper jaw. Snout slightly pointed, its length smaller than interorbital distance, greater than eye diameter. Caudal peduncle depth 1.8–2.5 times in its length. Dorsal-fin margin straight, anal-fin margin slightly convex anteriorly, slightly concave posteriorly. Distance between pelvicfin origin and dorsal-fin origin equal to about ½ of pelvic-fin length. Anal-fin origin one scale behind last dorsal-fin ray. Keel between anus and pelvic-fin base exposed for 3–10 scales in front of anus. Maximum size 170 mm SL.

Dorsal fin with 3 simple and 7½ (1)–8½ (75) branched rays. Anal fin with 3 simple and 9½ (13), 10½ (48) and 11½ (15) branched rays. Pectoral fin with 1 simple and 13 (5), 14 (6), 15 (28), 16 (29) and 17 (8) branched rays, outer margin slightly convex. Pelvic fin 1 simple and 8 (76) branched rays, outer margin convex. Caudal-fin deeply forked and lobes pointed. Axillary pelvic lobe present. Lateral line complete, reaching caudal-fin base, perforating 46-56 scales on body and 2 or 3 on caudal-fin base; 49 (1), 50 (4), 51 (9), 52 (12), 53 (10), 54 (8), 55 (10)–56 (9), 57 (9), 58 (3) and 59 (1) total lateral line scales. 9 (7), 10 (40) and 11 (29) scale rows lateral line and dorsal-fin origin; 4 (28), 5 (34) and 6 (14) scale rows lateral line and anal-fin origin. Ventral keel, slightly prominent, exposed for 3–10 scales in front of anus. 9 (1), 10 (9), 11 (9) and 12 (3) short gill rakers on first gill arch. Pharyngeal teeth 2.5–5.2 (5) or 2.5–5.1 (5).

Coloration. Back and upper part of flank pale brown, lower part of flank and belly silvery in life. In formalin preserved fish, back and upper flank dark brown, lower part of flank and belly yellowish. A dark-brown or grey stripe present on upper part of flank from posterior margin of operculum to caudal peduncle, distinct on both anterior and posterior parts of flank, its width approximately equal to eye diameter. Scale pockets on back and flank above or slightly below lateral line dark-brown or grey. Dorsal and caudal fins grey; anal, pelvic and pectoral fins yellowish or hyaline. Small black dots on fin rays.

Distribution. Alburnus kotschyi is known from Arsuz, Seyhan and Ceyhan Rivers flowing to the Mediterranean Sea in southern Turkey. Alburnus from Arsuz, Ceyhan and Seyhan could not be distinguished and also molecular data presented by Geiger et al. (2014) suggest that these populations are conspecific.

Figures

FIGURE 1.Alburnus kotschyi, IUSHM 37900-253, neotype, 79.2 mm SL; Turkey: Arsuz.