Black and Caspian Sea sprat (Clupeonella cultriventris)

Scientific name: Clupeonella cultriventris Nordmann, 1840

Black and Caspian Sea sprat (Clupeonella cultriventris)

The Black and Caspian Sea sprat (Clupeonella cultriventris) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-21; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 12 - 23. Head short and wide; belly sharply keeled, with 24 to 29 scutes; pectoral fin tips pointed; last 2 anal fin rays enlarged; pterotic bulla absent; no notch at the center of the upper jaw. Based on pelvic and pectoral fin length, Svetovidov (1952 and 1963) recognized 2 subspecies: C. cultriventris cultriventris with longer pectoral and pelvic fins compared to that of C. cultriventris caspia.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Clupeonella cultriventris
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
14.5
Common length
10.0
Depth range
10–13 m (33–43 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range 10 - 13 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eurasia: Black Sea (northwestern parts), Sea of Azov and Caspian Sea, also most of the affluent rivers of the area, reaching as far as 60 km inland. Also, Lake Palaeostomi (Bulgaria) and in Bay of Feodosiya (Romania), also Lake Apolyont (Turkey). Two subspecies are recognized by some, Clupeonella cultriventris cultriventris (Nordmann, 1840) from the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and Clupeonella cultriventris caspia (Svetovidov, 1941) from the Caspian Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.2-1.1(?); tm=2-3; tmax=5; Fec=5,220-20,110)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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