Salmo rizeensis, Turan, Kottelat & Engin, 2009

Salmo rizeensis View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Pontic brook trout.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Salmo in Marmara and Black Sea basins by: ○ flank brownish in life / ○ black spots on flank usually smaller than pupil, ocellated, restricted to back and upper part of flank, absent in front of dorsal / ○ few black spots, number decreasing with size / ○ few red spots, small, ocellated, usually organised in three or four irregular rows along middle and lower part of flank / ○ number and size of red spots not changing with size / ● maxilla long, reaching beyond eye in adults and juveniles / ○ upper edge of maxilla straight or slightly convex posteriorly in male / ○ head 1.2–1.4 times in body depth at dorsal origin in male / ● adipose slender, upper edge straight or very slightly convex anteriorly / ○ 114–120 lateral-line scales counted until end of hypural complex / ○ 26–30 scale rows between dorsal origin and lateral line / ○ 18–21 scale rows between anal origin and lateral line / ○ 14–17 scale rows between adipose origin and lateral line / ○ 16–19 gill rakers. Size up to 250 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Black Sea basin from Georgia to Sakarya in Anatolia.

Habitat. Streams with cold, clear, fast-flowing water, and a substrate of rocks, stones, and pebbles.

Biology. Spawns mid-September–mid-October. Resident and not undertaking long spawning migrations. Smallest spawning female observed about 110 mm SL. Smallest male with mature gonads about 90 mm SL, usually 140–170 mm SL. Do not appear to feed during winter.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. See discussion in chapter about S. labrax .

Further reading. Turan et al. 2010 (description); Ninua et al. 2018 (Cytochrome b data); Turan et al. 2020 (Cytochrome b phylogeny); Hashemzadeh Segherloo et al. 2021 (genomics).