Evidences of Multicomponent Structure of the Migratory Stock and Morphological Distinctions of Shads from the Genus Alosa (Clupeaformes, Alosiinae) of the Sea of Azov
Journal: Vestnik Zoologii
Year: 2013

Abstract Migratory stocks of shads passing through the Kerch strait during their seasonal migrations consist of three groups of specimens, that can be identified based on the number of gill rakers on the first arch. These are so called Kerch shad A. maeotica (50.2 %), Pontic shad A. immaculata (48.7 %) and Caspian shad A. caspia (1.1 %). This ratio of species in the region remains stable for the last 60 years. Populations of Kerch and Pontic shads have similar age structure and sex ratio with a