Azov percarina
Azov percarina (Percarina maeotica) is a small ray-finned fish in the Percidae family. It lives in the eastern and northeastern Sea of Azov, especially the Gulf of Taganrog, Temryuk Bay, Bolshoi Akhtanizovski Liman, the Kuban River delta, and only rarely in the Don River delta. It prefers coastal fresh and brackish waters up to 7 ppt salinity, often in river mouths.
It has scaled cheeks, a pigmented back, and gray flanks with many small dark dots that can form larger spots near the base of the dorsal fins, distinguishing it from the closely related common percarina (Percarina demidoffi). It is a social species that forms shoals.
Young Azov percarina are very small, about 6 mm, and feed on zooplankton, especially small crustaceans. As they grow to 16–40 mm, they eat larger crustaceans like copepods and mysids. From the second year, they are largely piscivorous, feeding on small fish such as Knipowitschia longecaudata and Clupeonella cultriventis, as well as benthic worms, molluscs, and insect larvae.
They reach sexual maturity at about one year. Spawning occurs in June and July in the least saline parts of the Gulf of Taganrog, after which adults migrate to the open sea. Eggs are laid on mud bottoms and hatch in about 2 days; larvae stay on the bottom for a few days and then move to the surface.
Taxonomy: Percarina maeotica was described in 1888 by I.D. Kuznetsov from the northeastern Sea of Azov. Some classifications treat it as a subspecies of the common percarina (Percarina demidoffi), but differences in form and habitat support treating it as a separate species. The common percarina is found in Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.
Conservation status: Least Concern.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:37 (CET).