Pelecus cultratus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 353

Pelecus cultratus

Common name. Razor fish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Leuciscidae in West Asia by: ● lateral line running in an undulated line / ○ 24–29½ branched anal rays / ○ mouth superior / ○ body very elongate and compressed / ● dorsal profile almost straight / ○ sharp, scaleless keel from throat to anus / ● dorsal base entirely above anal base. Size up to 500 mm SL.

Distribution. Caspian basin in Azerbaijan and Iran. Aral basin and European part of Black and Caspian basins. Absent from Anatolia and Black Sea basin south of Kuban. Baltic basin from Vistula to Neva, southern Sweden and Finland, Lakes Ladoga and Onega. Occasionally, on Baltic coast west of Vistula and Finnish coast north of 61°N.

Habitat. Surface of open waters of large rivers and lakes. Abundant in reservoirs (Don, Volga). Semi-anadromous individuals feed and spawn in pelagic zone of freshened parts of sea or lower parts of rivers, in main channels or floodplains. Lacustrine populations spawn in open waters of lakes.

Biology. Lives up to 9 years. First spawns at 3–5 years, with 200–300 mm SL. Semi-anadromous individuals enter rivers from July (Don). When rivers are ice-covered, spawning migration ceases and resumes with ice break-up in April– May. Resident individuals in rivers throughout year. Spawns May–June, earlier in southern drainages (April in Syr-Darya) at temperatures above 12°C. Eggs semi-pelagic and drift with current (in rivers). Eggs hatch after 3–4 days. Adults return to estuaries to feed immediately after spawning. Juveniles may migrate to estuaries during first summer. Feeds on zooplankton, terrestrial invertebrates, and small fish.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. This species represents the sole member of an isolated lineage within Leuciscidae , lacking any close relationship to other Leuciscid genera. It is unique among Western Palaearctic leuciscids, exhibiting a long, slender, highly compressed body with a sharp keel from the throat to the anus. However, this appearance is shared with some unrelated Asian species, particularly Macrochirichthys

macrochirus. Pelecus is an important commercial species, sold dried and smoked.

Further reading. Berg 1949b (biology); Balon 1956 (biology); Bogutskaya 1988b (osteology); Kottelat & Freyhof 2007 (biology, distribution).