Pontic shad (Alosa immaculata)

Scientific name: Alosa immaculata Bennett, 1835

Pontic shad (Alosa immaculata)

The Pontic shad (Alosa immaculata) is a freshwater fish of the family Clupeidae.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Body fairly elongate, more `herring-like' than `shad-like'. Gill rakers rather thin, usually equal to or a little shorter than gill filaments. Teeth well developed in both jaws. Resembles A. caspia, which usually has more Gill rakers (50 to 180, much longer than gill filaments), poorly developed teeth and a deeper, `shad-like' body; A. maeotica has fewer Gill rakers (33 to 36).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Alosa immaculata
Family
Clupeidae (Herrings, shads and sardines)
Order
Clupeiformes (Herrings)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
39.0
Depth range
3–90 m (10–295 ft)
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; anadromous; depth range 3 - 90 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eurasia: Black Sea and Sea of Azov ( in sea and in the Don, Danube and other rivers, as much as 567 km up the Don and as far as Kiev on the Dneiper before the dam was built). Recognized sub-species: Alosa pontica pontica in the Black Sea and rivers feeding it; Alosa pontica kessleri and Alosa pontica volgensis in the Caspian Sea. Appendix III of the Bern Convention (protected fauna).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Vulnerable (VU) (B2ab(v))
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.32; tm=2; tmax=9)

Sources

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

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