Published November 12, 2025 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Alburnus filippii Kessler 1877

Description

Alburnus filippii

Common name. Kura bleak.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnus in Caspian and Lake Urmia basins by: ● usually 7½ branched dorsal ray / ○ 48–61+3 lateral line scales / ○ usually 10–12½ branched anal rays / ○ 12–21 gill rakers / ○ anal origin slightly behind dorsal base / ○ a bold midlateral stripe / ○ ventral keel entirely naked or naked part extends more than 50 % of distance between pelvic origin and anus, rarely completely covered by scales. Size up to 125 mm SL.

Distribution. Caspian basin: Kura and Aras, east to Sefid, introduced to Chahnime lakes in Sistan basin, at altitudes up to 2000 m.

Habitat. All types of streams, lakes, and rivers except very cold mountain streams and brackish lagoons.

Biology. Life span is about 5 years, with maturity at 1 year for males and 2 years for females. Spawns May–June into July in higher altitudes.

Conservation status. LC.

Further reading. Berg 1949b (distribution, morphology); Bektaş et al. 2020 (phylogeny); Kaya et al. 2020a (distribution); Coad 2021a (biology, morphology).

Notes

Published as part of Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, GmbH, Berlin / Boston :De Gruyter on page 318, DOI: 10.1515/9783111677811, http://zenodo.org/record/17881367

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

References

  • Berg, L. S. 1949 b. [Freshwater fishes of the U. S. S. R. and adjacent countries. Izdatelstvo Akademii Nauk SSSR, Moskva & Leningrad 470 - 925. [Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, 1965].
  • Bektas, Y., I. Aksu, C. Kaya, E. Baycelebi, F. Kucuk & D. Turan. 2020. Molecular systematics and phylogeography of the genus Alburnus Rafinesque, 1820 (Teleostei, Leuciscidae) in Turkey. Mitochondrial DNA Part A 31: 273-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701394.2020.1791840
  • Kaya, C., E. Baycelebi & D. Turan. 2020 a. Taxonomic assessment and distribution of fishes in upper Kura and Aras River drainages. Zoosystematics and Evolution 96: 325-344. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.96.52241
  • Coad, B. W. 2021 a. Carps and Minnows of Iran (Families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae) Volume I: General introduction and Carps (Family Cyprinidae). Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1 - 1263. Available at: http://www.briancoad.com/species%20accounts/Carps%20of%20Iran%2010Sept2opt1.pdf (Accessed January 2023).