Alburnoides fasciatus (Nordmann, 1840)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 289-290

Alburnoides fasciatus

Common name. Colchic spirlin.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnoides in Mediterranean, Marmara, and Black Sea basins by: ○ ventral keel covered by (2) 3–5 scales on its anterior part / ○ 12−15½, usually 13−14½, branched anal rays / ○ 44−53+2−3 lateral-line scales / ○ 6–10 gill rakers / ○ caudal peduncle length 17–21 % SL / ○ head width at anterior eye margin 10–11 % HL / ○ proximal 30–50 % of last unbranched dorsal ray ossified / ○ interorbital width 8–10 % SL / ○ caudal peduncle depth 11–12 % SL / ○ body depth at dorsal origin usually greater than head length / ○ horizontal eye diameter smaller than interorbital distance / ○ snout pointed / ○ upper lip slightly projecting lower lip / ○ tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with middle of eye to lower margin of pupil. Size up to 127 mm SL.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range.

Further reading. Turan et al. 2014a (description); Bektaş et al. 2019 (phylogeny); Canoğlu et al. 2023 (barcoding).

Distribution. Caucasian Black Sea basin of Russia, south to Aksu drainage ( Giresun) in Türkiye.

Habitat. Streams and rivers with moderate or fast-flowing water and gravel substrate; also in oxbows and lakes. Spawns in smaller streams on gravel. Lake and river populations migrate into tributaries to spawn.

Biology. Lives up to 8 years. Females larger than males. Matures at 2–3 years. Spawns April–August, at water temperatures between 13 and 19°C, over gravel bottoms in swift currents. Female lays 2–3 batches of eggs per season. Feeds mainly on benthic insect larvae, plankton, terrestrial insects, and algae.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Spirlin in coastal streams east of Yeşilırmak and Aksu are likely to belong to this species.

Alburnoides freyhofi ; Kızılırmak drainage, Türkiye; ~ 75 mm SL.

Further reading. Elanidze 1983 (biology); Bogutskaya & Coad 2009 (description); Bayçelebi et al. 2015 (distribution); Turan et al. 2017b (identification); Bektaş et al. 2019 (phylogeny); Kaya 2020a (distribution, identification); Yeşilçiçek 2022b (size); Canoğlu et al. 2023 (barcoding).