Planiliza klunzingeri (Day, 1888)

Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, GmbH, Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter : 811

Planiliza klunzingeri

Common name. Eastern keeled mullet.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of mullets in Persian Gulf basin and coasts of Arabian Peninsula by: ○ back in front of first dorsal keeled by thickened and ridged stripes on scales / ○ with adipose tissue rim around eye reaching or almost reaching pupil / ○ total gill rakers 79–96 in individuals between 66 and 91 mm SL, 94–109 in individuals between 110 and 139 mm SL / ○ first pterygiophore of first dorsal ray set between 7th and 8th vertebrae / ○ caudal forked / ○ pectoral short, not reaching close to vertical of first dorsal origin / ○ anterior margin of preorbital bone strongly concave, tip blunt. Size up to 175 mm SL.

Distribution . Coasts of Persian Gulf, including lower Shatt al Arab/Arvand and Hammar marshes, east to Pakistan and west coast of India. Mostly in estuaries of larger rivers.

Habitat. Large estuarine areas, lagoons, marshes, and lower reaches of rivers, often found in polluted waters.

Biology. Gregarious. Lives up to five years. Spawns first time at 1 year and about 100 mm SL. Spawns at sea at 14–18°C in December–April ( Kuwait Bay). Juveniles enter estuaries and freshwaters to feed. Highest growth rate and food conversion efficiency at 15 ‰ salinity under experimental conditions. Feeds mainly on detritus, algae, phytoplankton, and zooplankton.

Conservation status. VU; appears to be in steady decline due to overfishing.

Remarks. Often identified as Liza carinata .

Further reading. Senou et al. 1987 (identification, distribution); Thomson 1997 (description, biology, distribution).

Figures

Planiliza klunzingeri

Distribution