Alburnus tarichi

Alburnus tarichi View in CoL View Figure

Common name. Tarek.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnus in Persian Gulf, Qweiq, Lake Van, and Iranian endorheic basins by: ○ 69–88+3 lateral-line scales / ○ 21–29 gill rakers / ○ 10–12½ branched anal rays / ○ 11–15 scale rows between dorsal origin and lateral line / ○ 5–8 scale rows between lateral line and pelvic origin / ○ anal origin 0–4 scales behind last branched dorsal ray / ○ ventral keel scaleless or one scale behind pelvic base / ○ flank scales with grey margins or irregular set grey pigmentation / ○ mid-lateral stripe absent or very faint. Size up to 220 mm SL.

Distribution View Figure . Türkiye: Lake Van basin including Lakes Nazik and Aygır. Landlocked in Koçköprü reservoir (Zilan). Introduced to Lake Erçek in 1989.

Habitat View Figure . Lacustrine, usually feeding in open water. Swims up tributaries to spawn in Van and Erçek basins. Spawns on shores of Nazik and Aygır lakes.

Biology. Lives up to 8 years. Matures at 2 years. Spawns May–June.

Conservation status. LC; fisheries for this commercial species are well managed.

Remarks. Introduced to Lake Burdur (Central Anatolia) in 1966, where it became temporarily established but disappeared before the 1980s.

Further reading. Freyhof et al. 2018b (phylogeny); Atıcı et al. 2020 (diagnosis, distribution, introductions).