Alburnoides Spirlins are small fishes that inhabit hill-stream habitats throughout West and Central Asia, extending east to the Amu Darya drainage. They also occur throughout Europe, west to France. Spirlins are superficially similar to some Alburnus species, particularly in turbid waters, where the lateral stripe and the dark-grey marks along the lateral line are poorly expressed. The orange bases of the paired fins are a useful indicator for distinguishing Alburnoides from Alburnus (which usually lack orange at the paired fin bases) in the field. Despite superficial similarities, both genera appear to be distantly related. All spirlin species are superficially similar, and only three species were classified as valid before the year 2000: the widespread A. bipunctatus, as well as A. oblongus and A. taeniatus (both from Central Asia). Since A. oblongus and A. taeniatus were transferred to Alburnus, 22 new Alburnoides species have been described, and 11 species revalidated from the list of synonyms. Currently, 34 species are recognised, 22 of which are found in West Asia. Alburnoides varentsovi, found on the northern slope of the Kopetdag Mountains in Turkmenistan, is an additional species in the region. It is not considered in this book. It can be challenging to distinguish between species of spirlins, and their distribution can assist in the identification, as they are all strictly allopatric. Further reading. Matveyev et al. 2017; Sheraliev & Peng 2021 (placement of A. taeniatus and A. oblongus to Alburnus). Keys to species of Alburnoides in West Asia Contributing authors: Nina Bogutskaya (Dolsko) and Davut Turan (Rize) contributed to the chapter on the genus Alburnoides. Black, Mediterranean, and Marmara Sea basins 1a - Ventral keel scaleless or rarely covered by 1–3 scales on its anterior part. ………………2 1b - Ventral keel covered by scales, at least by (2) 3–7 scales on its anterior part. ………………5 2a - Usually 7–9 gill rakers. ………………3 2b - Usually 5–7 gill rakers. ………………4 3a - Mouth slightly subterminal, upper lip projecting beyond lower lip. ……………… A. kurui 3b - Mouth terminal, upper and lower lips equally projecting. ……………… A. turani 4a - 11–14½ branched anal rays. ……………… A. kosswigi 4b - 14–16½ branched anal rays. ……………… A. freyhofi 5a - 10–12½ branched anal rays. ………………6 5b - 12–16½ branched anal rays. ………………7 6a - Caudal peduncle depth 9–11 % SL; pigmentation of lateral line slightly distinct in anterior part of but indistinct in posterior part; snout length is markedly shorter than interorbital distance; 6−8, usually 7, gill rakers. ……………… A. tzanevi 6b - Caudal peduncle depth 11–12 % SL; lateral line clearly distinct in both, anterior and posterior parts; snout length about equal to interorbital distance; usually 8−10 gill rakers. ……………… A. manyasensis 7a - Interorbital width 7–8 % SL; caudal peduncle depth 10–11 % SL. ……………… A. coskuncelebii 7b - Interorbital width 8–10 % SL; caudal peduncle depth 11–12 % SL. ………………8 8a - Caudal peduncle length 17–21 % SL; head width at anterior eye margin 10–11 % HL. ……………… A. fasciatus 8b - Caudal peduncle length 21–26 % SL; head width at anterior eye margin 9–10 % HL. ……………… A. smyrnae Caspian basin and Hari drainage 1a - Horizontal eye diameter smaller than interorbital distance. ………………2 1b - Horizontal eye diameter equal to or larger than interorbital distance. ………………3 2a - 11−13, usually 12, predorsal vertebrae. ……………… A. tabarestanensis 2b - 13−15, usually 14, predorsal vertebrae. ……………… A. eichwaldii 3a - Ventral keel usually completely covered by scales, or at least anterior half of its length covered by scales. ……………… A. samiii 3b - Ventral keel completely or almost completely scaleless. ……………… A. holciki Euphrates and Tigris drainages 1a - Horizontal eye diameter equal to or larger than interorbital distance. ……………… A. emineae 1b - Horizontal eye diameter smaller than interorbital distance. ………………2 2a - Mouth terminal with pronounced chin; tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with middle of eye or lower margin of pupil; caudal lobes pointed. ……………… A. diclensis 2b - Mouth terminal to subterminal without pronounced chin; tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with lower margin of pupil or below; caudal lobes rounded. ………………3 3a - 8−11½, usually 9–10½, branched anal rays; usually 7½ branched dorsal rays. ……………… A. nicolausi 3b - 9−15½, usually 11−14½, branched anal rays; usually 8½ branched dorsal rays (often 7½ in A. idignensis). ………………4 4a - Outer anal margin straight or slightly convex; ventral keel usually partly to completely scaleless. ……………… A. idignensis 4b - Outer anal margin straight or clearly concave; ventral keel usually completely covered by scales. ……………… A. velioglui Iranian endorheic basins: Western Kavir, Urmia, Namak, and Kor 1a - Horizontal eye diameter equal to or larger than interorbital distance. ……………… A. qanati 1b - Horizontal eye diameter smaller than interorbital distance. ………………2 2a - 8−11½, usually 9–10½, branched anal rays; usually 7½ branched dorsal rays. ……………… A. petrubanarescui 2b - 10−15½, usually 11−14½, branched anal rays; usually 8½ branched dorsal rays. ………………3 3a - Snout rounded; mouth subterminal; tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with lower margin of eye or below. ……………… A. namaki 3b - Snout slightly pointed; mouth terminal; tip of mouth cleft situated at a horizontal line with lower half of eye. ……………… A. damghani

Published as part of Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, GmbH, Berlin / Boston :De Gruyter on pages 283-284, DOI: 10.1515/9783111677811, http://zenodo.org/record/17881367