Pelecus cultratus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Sichel
Pelecus cultratus
photo by Otel, V.

Family:  Leuciscidae (Minnows), subfamily: Leuciscinae
Max. size:  60 cm TL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 2,000.0 g; max. reported age: 11 years
Environment:  pelagic; freshwater; brackish; depth range - 20 m, anadromous
Distribution:  Eurasia: Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Aral Sea basins; Baltic basin from Vistula to Neva drainages, southern Sweden and Finland, Lakes Ladoga and Onega. Occasionally on Baltic coast west of Vistula and on Finnish coast north of 61°N (Ref. 59043).
Diagnosis:  Mouth oblique. Low wavy lateral line. Belly with a sharp edge (Ref. 35388).
Biology:  Adults shoal in lower reaches of large rivers and in the eastern Baltic, the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea. They spawn in spring in midstream (Ref. 9696) and return to estuaries to forage immediately after spawning (Ref. 59043). Juveniles may migrate to estuaries during first summer (Ref. 59043). Feed on zooplankton, terrestrial invertebrates and small fish (Ref. 59043).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 01 January 2008 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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