Alosa braschnikowii (Borodin, 1904)

Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash, Ghanavi, Hamid Reza & Doadrio, Ignacio, 2020, Fig. 4 in Fig. 4 in Fig. 3 in Fig. 21. Sesarmops mora n in Paralbunea dayriti, Zoological Studies 59 (21), pp. 1-303 : 21-22

Alosa braschnikowii (Borodin, 1904) – Native ( Fig. 30)

Clupea caspiopontica var. braschnikowi Borodin [N. A.] 1904: 180 [13]; Type locality: Near Fort Aleksandrovsk, middle Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan. Lectotype: ZIN 13051 (280 mm). Paralectotypes: ZIN 13051 (7 of 8, with lectotype).

Clupea caspiopontica var. grimmi Borodin [N. A.] 1904: 180, 184; Type locality: Ashur-ade, near Astrabad Bay, Caspian Sea, Iran. Lectotype: ZIN 13045 (34 cm). Paralectotypes: ZIN 13045 (5 of 6, with lectotype).

Caspialosa brashnikovi autumnalis Berg [L. S.] 1915: 6; Type locality: Southern Caspian Sea. Syntypes: whereabouts unknown.

Caspialosa kisselevitschi Bulgakov [G. P.] 1926: 37; Type locality: Gassan-Kuli, southern Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan. Syntypes: (62) whereabouts unknown.

Caspialosa nirchi Morozov [A. V.] 1928: 72; Type locality: Krasnovodsk Bay, Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan. Syntypes: (many) whereabouts unknown.

Caspialosa brashnikovi agrachanica Mikhailovsky [A. A.] 1941: 563; Type locality: Region of islands Tyulenyi and Dargui, northern Caspian Sea. Neotype: ZIN 17334 . Original syntypes: ZIN 1182–1199 (not at ZIN).

Caspialosa brashnikovi orientalis Mikhailovsky [A. A.] 1941: 560; Type locality: Near Karadashly, E. coast of southern Caspian Sea. Lectotype: ZIN 32187. Paralectotypes: ZIN 32187 (15, with lectotype).

Caspialosa brashnikovi sarensis Mikhailovsky [A. A.] 1941: 564; Type locality: Sara Island, Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan. Lectotype: ZIN 32184. Paralectotypes: ZIN 31284 (19, with lectotype), 32185 (26), 37475 (10), 38074–75 (25, 24).

Common name: Pr: Shagmahi, Shagmahi-ye Khazari, En: Kura herring, Striped herring.

Diagnosis: A relatively elongate and rounded body, more “herring-like” than “shad-like”. Gill rakers thick and large, shorter, equal to (or a little longer than) gill filaments, either straight or curved, pointed or blunt, occasionally even bifurcated at tips. Teeth present in both jaws and well-developed. Other Caspian shads have deeper, more shad-like bodies.

Meristic characters: D: III 12–15 (14), A: II–IV (III) 10–20 (18), GR: 24–47 (30–33), LL: 51–54, TV: 48–55.

Distribution: Caspian Sea basin ( Fig. 31). Reported from throughout the Caspian Sea. Mostly distributed in the south during winter, and moves north to spawn in spring.

Taxonomy.

Conservation: IUCN: Not Evaluated; PC: Least Concern. Widespread species without any known major threat. Dam constructions in the Caspian Sea basin probably affect the access to some of their spawning grounds.