- Kutum (fish)
Taxobox
name = Kutum
other names= Caspian White Fish, Caspian Roach
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Actinopterygii
ordo =Cypriniformes
familia =Cyprinid ae
genus = "Rutilus "
species = "R. frisii"
subspecies = "R. frisii kutum"
trinomial = "Rutilus frisii kutum"
trinomial_authority = Kamenskiy, 1901The Kutum ("Rutilus frisii kutum", family
Cyprinid ae) also known as "Caspian White Fish", "Caspian Roach", "māhi sefid" ماهی سفید in Persian, "Talaji" inMazandarani , and "sifid mahyi" inGileki , is a medium sizedfresh water andbrackish water fish native to theCaspian Sea . It is a subspecies of theBlack Sea Roach "Rutilus frisii frisii". It is typically a medium sized fish, reaching 45-55 cm in length, rarely 70 cm, and weighing up to 4.00 kg, rarely 5.00 kg. It used to be very common and was harvested commercially. The population seems to have collapsed due to over exploitation and pollution. Its flesh androe is enjoyed as food, and highly prized inGilan andMazandaran provinces inIran .*Feeding: The main food items are mollusks, shrimps, amphipods and crabs. Larvae and fry feed on rotifers, minute forms of cladocerans, diatom algae, and larvae of Copepods.
*Populations: Three populations (one autumn and two spring populations) were found in the rivers of Iran (Rezavi, 1997); a riverine/ freshwater form exists in the South Caspian (Derzhavin, 1934).
*Distribution: Kutum is endemic to the
Caspian Sea . It is distributed from the mouth of the Volga River up to theMiankaleh peninsula . Main aggregations are confined to the south-western part of the sea adjacent to the Anzali and Qizilchay bays. On the eastern coast, it occurs in the Atrak estuarine areas and in theIran ian waters.*Behavior: lives in small schools in deep water, but spawns in shallow water in the tributaries in April-May. The eggs are laid among weeds or over gravel, and hatch in about 10 days. Becomes sexually mature in 3-5 years. Resilience of this species is low. Minimum population doubling time is 4.5 - 14 years.
External links
* [http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Rutilus%20frisii%20kutum/main.htm]
* [http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=8416]
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