The phylogenetic relationship among five shad species (Alosa caspia, A. fallax nilotica, Alosa maeotica, Alosa immaculata, Alosa tanaica) from Turkish marine waters was investigated with mitochondrial DNA polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism.The six genesegments, NADH 5/6, NADH 3/4cytochrome b, COX, 16 SrRNA and D-Loop,of mtDNA amplified by PCR were digested with seven restriction enzymes, BsurI, AluI, EheI, Hin6I, RsaI, XhoI Bsh1236I,respectively.When all the six genes were combined together for phylogenetic analysis, a total of 45 haplotypes were detected from the five shad species, and the average haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity within species were 0.8809 and 0.0022 respectively. The average nucleotide diversity and nucleotide divergence among species were 0.009248 and 0.007080 respectively. The highest genetic divergence was observed between A. caspiaand A. maeotica (0.013727) and the lowest between A. immaculataand A.tanaica (0.003073). Monte Carlo (X2) pairwise genetic comparison revealed highly significant differences between all species (P<0.001). In the Neighbour-joining tree, there were two main grouping, and in the first group, A. caspia and A. f. nilotica exhibited the closest genetic similarity which was the sister group to A. immaculata. A .tanaicaseems to be the most divergent in this grouping. Another group contained only A. maeotica which showed the highest genetic differentiation among Alosa genus.

A revised checklist of the fish fauna of the Black Sea is reported. This paper is the first attempt to present an actual Check List of the fishes in the Black Sea according to the data available in Black Sea countries, as well as their current conservation status, enlisted in IUCN. The total number of Black Sea fish species is 189. Concerning the conservation status, only two species (1.06 %) are extinct (Acipenser nudiventris and A. sturio), 3.70 % are critically endangered, 16.40 % are vulnerable, 1.06% are endangered; for 10.58 % there is a lack of data, 26.46% has been classified in the category “Least concern”, 2.65 % are “Near threatened” and 38. 10% are “Not evaluated”. Keywords: Keywords: Black Sea, Ichtyofauna, list of species, IUCN.

In the present study, a total of 31 specimens of pontic shad, Alosa immaculata Bennet, 1835 (Pisces: Clupaeidae) caught in the Black Sea coasts near Sinop, Turkey in 2010 were investigated for their parasite fauna. Four parasite species were identified: Mazocraes alosae (Herman, 1782), Pronoprymna ventricosa (Rudolphi, 1891), Lecithaster confusus Odhner, 1905 and Hysterothylacium aduncum (Rudolphi, 1802). H. aduncum was the core species with infection prevalence of 96.7% and mean intensity value of 97.1 ± 18.1 parasites per infected fish, followed by M. alosae (61.3% and 3.2 ± 0.5), P. ventricosa (35.5% and ± 12.5) and L. confusus (29% and 8.2 ± 2.8), respectively. In the present study, Mazocraes alosae, Pronoprymna ventricosa and Lecithaster confusus are reported from pontic shad off Turkish coasts of the Black Sea for the first time.

Although the Southern Caspian Sea basin (SCSB) fish fauna has been studied for more than 200 years, new species continue to be discovered, reported and renamed. Here we take the opportunity to provide a new and updated checklist of the fishes of the southern Caspian Sea basin. The list is based on historical literature records and taxon occurrence data obtained from natural history collections and new fish collections. A total of 119 species belong to 63 genera, 18 families, 16 orders and two classes are listed. Exotic fishes comprise 19 species in seven families. The number of species is higher than two published checklists in 1988 (74 species and 42 genera) and in 2010 (116 confir med species belonging to 61 genera and 18 families). The fish taxa were classified into four major groups based on the fish origin, ecoregion and ecological factors (tolerance to salt water and mode of life). Two species were new to science described since 2010, the taxonomic status of some species has been changed and some subspecies has got full specie rank. In general, the ancient origins of the south Caspian Sea (being part of Paratethys basin), the role of closing of the Tethys Sea, being important glacial refugia and colonization sources, long history of connection and isolation from fresh and marine waters, multiple sources of species, wide latitudinal extent, uneven distribution of inflows and nutrient inputs, and low to moderate salinity, different habitat types (both fresh and brackish habitats, rivers, lakes, lagoons, marshes, and marine environments), have all contributed to the high ichthyodiversity of the southern Caspian Sea basin.

All Black Sea shads are listed in IUCN Red List as vulnerable species. The absence of correspondence between morphological and genetic features shows the complexity in genus Alosa taxonomy in Black Sea. To receive precise data for actual species status and respectively conservation of shads, the application of genetic methods are necessary. A comparison between two shad species (A. immaculata and A. caspia) from Bulgarian Black Sea coast and Danube River was carried out on the basis of genetic-biochemical analyses. Twelve enzymes (encoded by 27 loci) and general muscle proteins and haemoglobin (encoded by 43 loci) were investigated. Polymorphic variation in some loci as HB-1*, HB-2*, PROT-1*, PROT-2*, PROT-3*, ADH*, EST-3*, MDH-1*, MEP-1* PGM-2* and SDH* can be used for analyses of Alosa immaculata populations. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is a species specific marker for distinguishing A. immaculata and A. caspia. Genetic markers such as: 6-PGDH, SOD and PROT can be used to split th...

In this communication a history of early investigations of the Caspian Sea is given, with special emphasis on the expedition in 1904 headed by N. M. Knipovich. The con-tribution of this expedition to the study of biodiversity of the sea, particularly newly discovered fish taxa, is exam-ined. The specificity of the work, the new methods of col-lecting and examining samples, the routes of the expedi-tion, and the contribution of each participant to the expe-dition are discussed. Emphasis is placed on the continuity of research conducted on the Caspian Sea. Illustrations for the paper are original photographs made during the 1904 expedition from the archive of Vasily Kononov, a grandfa-ther of the third author. No photographs, except one, have been published before.