Ichthyofauna of Fresh and Brackish Waters of Russia and Adjacent Areas: Annotated List with Taxonomic Comments. 1. Families Petromyzontidae-Pristigasteridae
Abstract
A complete annotated list of fresh and brackish waters ichthyofauna of the Russian Federation and adjacent areas, based on a critical analysis of scientific publications of the last 200 years, and on the data of the authors' research, is the aim of this study. The taxonomic composition of the freshwater and brackish water fish fauna of Russia remains insufficiently studied.
This may result incorrect data on the true number of fish species of this category, not only for the waters of Russia, but also in the modern system of the world ichthyofauna as a whole, and also does not give a complete idea of the range, degree of endemism, abundance, conservation status, commercial value, and others important aspects. Until the present study, according to various sources, the Russian freshwater and brackish water ichthyofauna was estimated to amount from 351 to 486 species, respectively.
However, based on our ongoing research, these numbers are too low and need to be revised. The total species number in all categories should include at least 800 species also including the introduced non-native species, as well as species not yet recorded from Russian waters, but suggested to be found in the future.
In this first part of our updated checklist, we provide a basic historical review of ichthyological research in Russia, together with the first 77 species belonging to three classes (Petromyzonti, Elasmobranchii and Actinopteri), ten orders (Petromyzontiformes, Lamniformes, Carcharhiniformes, Squaliformes, Rajiformes, Myliobatiformes, Acipenseriformes, Elopiformes, Anguilliformes and Clupeiformes), nineteen families (Petromyzontidae, Alopiidae, Lamnidae, Triakidae, Carcharhinidae, Sphyrnidae, Somniosidae, Squalidae, Rajidae, Arhynchobatidae, Dasyatidae, Acipenseridae, Polyodontidae, Megalopidae, Anguillidae, Muraenesocidae, Clupeidae, Engraulidae and Pristigasteridae) and 38 genera. For each species, the following details are presented: scientific and English common names, taxonomic position with comments and synonyms (if necessary), conservation status, world distribution, zoogeographic characteristics, distribution in Russian waters and adjacent areas, abundance, and commercial value.