Azov sea sprat

Clupeonella cultriventris

Silver grey scales cover body

Black
Temperate
Regional distribution
Europe
West Asia
Fusiform
Compressed cross-section
Small
Temperate fish

The Black Sea sprat or Pontic sprat, Clupeonella cultriventris, is a small fish of the herring family, Clupeidae. It is found in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and rivers of its basins: Danube, Dnister, Dnipro (Ukraine), Southern Bug, Don, Kuban. It has white-grey flesh and silver-grey scales.

Class: Teleosts
Order: Herrings
Family: Ehiravidae
Genus: Clupeonella
Maximum length: 14.5 cm
Body shape: fusiform
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) (Ref. 188 ). Previously, two subspecies were 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 (Ref. 26334 , 39702 ).
Conservation status: LCLeast Concern

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