Singil

Body length 50 cm, usually 20-35 cm. Weight up to 1 kg, usually 50-450 g. Life expectancy up to 12 years. The body is elongated, low, barely compressed laterally, covered with large scales. The head is short, flattened. Fat eyelids are poorly developed and are visible only on the sides of the eyes. The lateral line is absent, but in the scales of the back and upper part of the head there are single grooves of the lateral line system. The back and upper half of the head are dark gray, ashen or brownish-black with a greenish-blue tint. The lower half of the head, sides and belly are silver-gray, sometimes almost milky white. On the sides between 7-8 silver-black longitudinal stripes, 6-7 brownish-golden or yellowish-golden stripes pass. On gill covers brownish-yellow or golden speck. Dorsal, pectoral, and caudal fins are dark gray, ventral and anal are yellowish white or grayish white ^[3] .

Distribution of the species: the East Atlantic from the southern coast of Norway and Sweden to East Africa ( Natal ), the Mediterranean , Black , and Azov Seas, was introduced into the Caspian Sea ^[3] .

Marine flock bottom-pelagic fast and shy fish. Young and adult individuals make seasonal migrations to coastal waters for feeding and breeding in spring and summer, and when the water cools to 10 ° C, they spend the winter in the sea. During feeding, schools of this fish, sometimes very numerous, go into shallow water, in bays, lagoons, salted and desalinated estuaries, coastal lakes, occasionally and in river mouths, usually in areas with silted, sometimes covered with vegetation bottom. Juveniles are kept mainly in the surface layers of water, large fish are found at depths of 1-2 m and deeper. Withstands high fluctuations in water salinity, the presence of hydrogen sulfide , as well as high water temperatures up to 29-31 ° C and even up to 35 ° C. Fledglings approach the shores in July-November, one-year from March-early May to October-November, in some places the juveniles stay almost all year round ( Crimea ) or winter ( Sukhoi estuary ). It reaches puberty in 3-5 years of life, males with a body length of 20-24 cm, females with a body length of 26-36 cm. Most often spawning takes place from late June-early August to mid-late September. Fertility is up to 2.5 million eggs. Under appropriate conditions, reproduction can occur both in the coastal zone and at a considerable distance from the coast. Pelagic caviar, is deposited in one or two times. The juveniles feed on phyto- and zooplankton , which are supplemented by benthic organisms. Adults feed mainly on microbenthos , detritus, etc. ^[3] .