Alburnoides samiii

Common name. South Caspian spirlin.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnoides in Caspian basin and Hari drainage by: ○ horizontal eye diameter equal to or larger than interorbital distance / ○ ventral keel partly to completely covered by scales / ○ body depth at dorsal origin usually greater than head length / ○ snout short, slightly rounded / ○ mouth terminal, upper and lower lips equally projecting / ○ tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with middle of eye / ○ 47−52+2−3, usually 48−51+2−3, lateral-line scales / ○ 4 pharyngeal teeth in long row on right 5 th ceratobranchial / ○ 11−15½, usually 12−14½, branched anal rays / ○ 7−10, usually 8−9, gill rakers. Size up to 85 mm SL.

Distribution . Caspian basin from Lenkoran lowlands (north of Talesh Mountains) in Azerbaijan east to Sefid in Iran.

Habitat. Streams and rivers with moderate to fast-flowing, well-oxygenated water and hard substrate. Also in lakes and reservoirs. Spawns in streams on gravel.

Biology. Females larger than males. Feeds mainly on benthic insect larvae.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Molecular studies suggest that A. eichwaldii hybridises with A. samiii in small coastal rivers south of Kura.

Further reading. Coad & Bogutskaya 2009 (morphology); Mousavi-Sabet et al. 2015c (description); Levin et al. 2016 (barcoding in Lenkoran); Eagderi et al. 2019a (phylogeny).