Pontic Shad

Alosa immaculata
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Clupeidae
Genus: Alosa
Species: A. immaculata
Binomial name
Alosa immaculata
E. T. Bennett, 1835
Synonyms [1]

Alosa pontica (Eichwald, 1838)

Alosa immaculata is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Alosa.[2]

Contents

Distribution

Alosa immaculata are anadromous.[3] It lives in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, and adults migrate up rivers to spawn.[1]It may also be found in the Mamara Sea in Turkey.[3]

Lifecycle

It currently migrates up the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug, Don and Kuban rivers.[1] Their spawning occurs between the warmer months of May and August.[3] It has a pelagic life and prefers to feed on small fishes and crustaceans.[3]

Conservation

Although the species used to migrate as far upstream as the Danube at Mohács (Hungary), the building of dams has limited the species. It currently migrates up the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug, Don and Kuban rivers.[1] Excessive fishing and pollution may also be responsible for their decline.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e J. Freyhof & M. Kottelat (2008). "Alosa immaculata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/907. Retrieved February 24, 2010. 
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Alosa immaculata" in FishBase. April 2006 version.
  3. ^ a b c d e Yılmaz, Savaş, and Nazmi Polat. Length-Weight Relationship and Condition Factor of Pontic Shad, Alosa Immaculata (Pisces: Clupeidae) From the Southern Black Sea. Research Journal of Fisheries and Hydrobiology 6.2 (2011): 49-53.