Alosa kessleri (Grimm, 1887)

Caspian anadromous shad

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Clupeiformes \| Clupeidae
Synonyms	Clupea kessleri, Alosa pontica kessleri, Caspialosa caspia kessleri, ... more
Common names	Sleděc černohřbetý, 黑背西鲱, Vesselka, ... more

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Image of Alosa kessleri (Caspian anadromous shad)

Picture by Hillen, B.

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Main reference

Whitehead, P.J.P. 1985. (Ref. 188)
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Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 52.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); common length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 188); max. published weight: 1,200 g (Ref. 56523); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 56523)

Environment

Pelagic-oceanic; anadromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 85 m (Ref. 188)

Climate / Range

Temperate; 55°N - 35°N, 42°E - 58°E (Ref. 188)

Former USSR and Asia: Caspian Sea.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Body fairly elongate, more `herring-like' than `shad-like'. Total gill rakers 59 to 155 (as in A. caspia), thick, coarse and shorter than gill filaments in some, long, thin and equal to or longer than gill filaments in others (i.e. A. kessleri volgensis). Teeth well developed in both jaws. Other Caspian shads have less than 50 gill rakers, except A. caspia which is deep-bodied.

Feeds chiefly on small fishes, less frequently on insect larvae and crustaceans (the latter though being the main food for A. kessleri volgensis). Migrates northward in spring (March or April, but sometimes as early as February or even January), apparently mainly along the western shore. Mass migration of large individuals into the Volga starts when the water temperature is about 9° C, reaching a peak at temperatures of 12°-15° C, and ceases at about 22° C (Ref. 10432). Spawning occurs from mid-May to August in rivers, some in the lower reaches or even delta, others as far as 500 km upstream. The young descends in late summer and autumn. Two subspecies known. The flesh of A. k. kessleri is said to be the tastiest of all Caspian clupeids owing to its high fat content, averaging 18.9% by weight before the spawning period, diminishing to about 1.5% after spawning (Ref. 10432). Eggs are bathypelagic (Ref. 59043).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Least Concern (LC)	Harmless

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=3-5; Fec=135,000)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100)	Low

Entered by Binohlan, Crispina B.

Modified by Kesner-Reyes, Kathleen

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