Distribution pattern and distribution map of the genus Alburnus Rafinesque, 1820

Distribution patterns of freshwater fishes provide valuable geographical andbiological information. Changes in freshwater systems cause adjustment indistribution and consequently variation in populations of their inhabitant fishes thatmight be the primary core of their speciation. The three decade information and recentextensive field work on 24Tgeographical distribution of seven species of Alburnus.Rafinesque, 1820 data have been analysed and mapped using DIVA-GIS software.Of seven species of Alburnus that limited to Iran; A. atropatenae, A. caeruleus, A.chalcoides, A. filippii, A. hohenackeri , A. zagrosensis and A. mossulensis , thesouthern king fish species (A. mossulensis) is widely distributed in the Tigris-Euphrates basin and adjacent basins including Gulf, Lake Maharlu, Kor and upperparts of the Hormuz. Three northern species of the Alburnus genus including A.chalcoides, A. filippii and A. hohenackeri, are distributed in the Caspian basinalthough A. hohenackeri is widely introduced to other river systems through out ofIran. The other three species of this genus have rather limited distributions, A.atropatenae is limited to Urumiyeh basin and A. zagrosensis and A. caeruleus toparts of Tigris basin.

Keywords:

Geographical coordinate , Distribution map , Iran , Alburnus