Alburnus kurui, Mangit & Yerli, 2018

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 321

Alburnus kurui

Common name. Yüksekova bleak.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Alburnus in Persian Gulf, Qweiq, Lake Van, and Iranian endorheic basins by: ● 8–12 gill rakers / ○ ventral keel absent / ○ 9–11½ branched anal rays / ○ 51–58 total lateral-line scales / ○ a prominent dark-brown mid-lateral stripe / ○ body short and stout / ○ snout rounded / ○ head width at nape 15–17 % SL / ○ head depth at nape 18–20 % SL. Size up to 83 mm SL.

Distribution . Türkiye: Yüksekova wetland in upper Greater Zab drainage.

Habitat . Springs and spring-fed streams. Likely to migrate to flooded meadows in winter.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. EN; appears to be declining within its very small range. Permanent water bodies such as small springs and streams in Yüksekova wetland are very limited and under increasing pressure from development.

Remarks. The reasons why this species is restricted to a single high-altitude wetland in Tigris drainage are not clear, but it has yet to be found elsewhere despite intensive fieldwork in the region. It was placed in Petroleuciscus , but it is very closely related to Alburnus timarensis from the Lake Van basin, although the two areas are not contiguous.

Further reading. Bogutskaya 1995 (description); Freyhof et al. 2018b (generic assignment).

Figures

Alburnus kurui

Distribution

Habitat