The Antalya bleak (''Alburnus baliki'') is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

in the genus ''

Alburnus ''Alburnus'' is a genus of fish in the family Leuciscidae, the daces and minnows. They are known commonly as bleaks. A group of species in the genus is known as shemayas. The genus occurs in the western Palearctic realm, and the center of diversi ...

''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and is commonly found in

schools A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

in clear, vegetated fresh water.

Description

The Antalya bleak is similar in appearance to other members of its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, ''

''. In addition, it has 12 dorsal rays, 16-18 anal rays and 36-38

vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...

.Bogutskaya, N.G., F. Kucuk and E. Unlu, 2000. Alburnus baliki, a new species of cyprinid fish from the Manavgat River system, Turkey. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 11(1):55-64. The longest known specimen was 6.1 cm long.

Distribution and habitat

it is only known from Turkey and was discovered in 2000 in the Manavgat River system. Shoals of the fish were found near the surface along the river's banks, where the current was slow and the river was densely vegetated, with a pH range around 6.5. This fish is known from 4 streams draining into the

Gulf of Antalya The Gulf of Antalya () is a large bay of the northern Levantine Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of Antalya Province, Turkey. It includes some of the main seaside resorts of Turkey, also known as the "Turkish Riviera". References ...

, from the Aksu River in the east to the Mangat River in the west. It may also be present in the

Ceyhan River The Ceyhan River (historically Pyramos or Pyramus (), Leucosyrus () or Jihun) is a river in Anatolia in the south of Turkey. Course of the river The Ceyhan River (Pyramus) has its source (known as ''Söğütlü Dere'') at a location called '' ...

. Three of the four rivers it is endemic to have been modified by

hydroelectric dams Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also ...

and pollution.

References

External links

at Fishbase.org
baliki Endemic fauna of Turkey Taxa named by Nina Gidalevna Bogutskaya Taxa named by Fahrettin Küçük Fish described in 2000 Endangered fish {{Leuciscinae-stub