The Black Sea sprat or Pontic sprat,[1] 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. A typical size is 10 cm (maximum 15 cm).[3] The life span is up to 5 years.[3] The peak of its spawning is in April and it can be found in enormous shoals in sea-shores, filled all-round coastal shallows, moving quickly back into the sea at a depth of 6–30 metres. Used for food; it has around 12% fat in flesh.
Black Sea sprat | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Clupeiformes |
Family: | Ehiravidae |
Genus: | Clupeonella |
Species: | C. cultriventris |
Binomial name | |
Clupeonella cultriventris | |
Synonyms | |
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It is one of the most abundant fishes in the Sea of Azov. It is important prey for other fishes, particularly the pikeperch.[4]
The Caspian tyulka Clupeonella caspia has been long considered a subspecies of C. cultriventris, C. cultriventris caspia, and a common name "Black and Caspian Sea sprat" was then applied to the whole.[5][3]
See also
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External links
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