The genus Alburnoides is characterized by small black spots near the pores located on each side of the lateral line outlining the canal at least along its anterior portion (Bogutskaya and Coad 2009). Three species of Alburnoides had been recognized as valid species before 2007. These were Alburnoides oblongus Bulgakov, 1923 [Chirchik River, Aral Sea basin], Alburnoides taeniatus (Kessler, 1874) [Tashkent, Aral Sea basin], and Alburnoides bipunctatus (Bloch, 1782) [France through Europe north of the Alps eastwards to the Black, Caspian and Aral Sea basins] (Berg 1949; Bogutskaya and Naseka 2004). Furthermore, 10 subspecies and local forms were described or reported within the Alburnoides bipunctatus complex: Alburnoides bipunctatus armeniensis Dadikyan, 1972 [Aras River, Kura River Drainage, Caspian Sea basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus eichwaldii De Filippi, 1863 [Kura River, Caspian Sea basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus rossicus Berg, 1924 [Dnieper River, Black Sea basin and Volga River, Caspian Sea basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus rossicus natio kubanicus Berg, 1932 [Kuban River, Sea of Azov basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus ohridanus Karaman, 1928 [Lake Ohrid, Adriatic Sea basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus var. prespensis Karaman, 1924 [Lake Prespa], Alburnoides bipunctatus var. smyrnae Pellegrin, 1927 [Melel Stream (near İzmir), Aegean Sea basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus strymonicus Chichkoff, 1940 [Struma River, Aegean Sea Basin], Alburnoides bipunctatus tzanevi Chichkoff, 1933 [Rezovska River (ancient Riesova River as mentioned by Chichkoff and Rezve in Turkish)], Black Sea basin], and Alburnoides bipunctatus subsp. (Berg 1949) [Kuma, Terek, Sulak rivers, Caspian Sea basin] (Berg 1949; Bogutskaya and Coad 2009). Besides above mentioned subspecies and local forms of Alburnoides bipunctatus, Aspius fasciatus Nordmann, 1840 [rivers of the western Transcaucasia, Black Sea basin] and Alburnoides maculatus Kessler, 1859 [Salgir River, Sea of Azov basin] have also been synonymized as Alburnoides bipunctatus.

Kottelat and Freyhof (2007) reported Alburnoides bipunctatus ohridanus and Alburnoides bipunctatus var. prespensis as valid species. Later, Alburnoides bipunctatus rossicus, Alburnoides bipunctatus rossicus natio kubanicus, A. bipunctatus fasciatus, Alburnoides maculatus and Alburnoides bipunctatus eichwaldii were reported as a valid species by Coad and Bogutskaya (2009) and Bogutskaya and Coad (2009). In addition to these, following 10 new species were described: Alburnoides devolli Bogutskaya, Zupančič et Naseka, 2010 [Seman River system, Adriatic Sea basin], Alburnoides fangfangae Bogutskaya, Zupančič et Naseka, 2010 [Seman River system, Adriatic Sea basin], Alburnoides gmelini Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Sunzha River, Terek River drainage, Caspian Sea basin], Alburnoides holciki Coad et Bogutskaya, 2012 [Hari (Tedzhen) River, endorheic (historically Aral Sea basin)], Alburnoides idignensis Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Bid Sorkh River, Gav Masiab River system, Tigris River drainage, Persian Gulf basin], Alburnoides namaki Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Qanat at Taveh, Namak Lake basin], Alburnoides nicolausi Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Simareh River in Karkheh River system, Tigris River drainage, Persian Gulf basin], Alburnoides petrubanarescui Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Qasemlou Chay, Orumiyeh Lake basin], Alburnoides qanati Coad et Bogutskaya, 2009 [qanat in the Pulvar River drainage, Kor River basin], and Alburnoides varentsovi Bogutskaya et Coad, 2009 [Ashkhabadka River, endorheic (historically Aral Sea basin)] (Coad and Bogutskaya 2009, 2012; Bogutskaya and Coad 2009, Bogutskaya et al. 2010).

The genus Alburnoides is widely distributed in Turkey in rivers and streams of basins of the Marmara, Black and Aegean seas from tributaries of Büyük Menderes River in the west, Euphrates and Tigris river drainages in the east and south-east, and Kura River drainage in the east, being absent only from the Mediterranean Sea basin (Kuru 1975, Erk’akan 1983, Kutrup 1994, Turan 2003, Kuru 2004, Geldiay and Balık 2009, our data). The populations of Alburnoides from streams and rivers in the eastern Black sea coast of Turkey were identified as Alburnoides fasciatus, and populations from Kura as Alburnoides eichwaldii (Bogutskaya et al. 2010).

In order to understand the Alburnoides diversity in Turkey, we sampled at 105 localities throughout the country between 2004 and 2012. In this paper we shall only discuss Alburnoides distributed in the Manyas Lake drainage in Marmara sea basin of Turkey (Fig. 1). After comparison with the other Alburnoides speciesof Turkey, including Kura River (Caspian Sea basin), Menderes River (Aegen Sea basin), also rivers Terkos, Istranca, Çoruh and İyidere (Black Sea basin), we concluded it is a distinct unnamed species which we describe herein as Alburnoides manyasensis.

Fish were caught by pulsed DC electrofishing equipment and killed by over overane-stization, fixed in formaldehyde and stored in ethanol. Material is deposited in: FFR, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Zoology Museum of the Faculty of Fisheries (Former Fisheries Faculty of the city of Rize). Counts and measurements follow Hubbs and Lagler (1947) except as follows. Head width₁: the distance between the anterior eye margins; head width₂: the distance between the posterior eye margins; head width₃: the head width at the nape; head depth₁: the head depth through the eye; head depth₂: the head depth at the nape; snout width: measured at level of the nostrils. The lateral-line scales are counted from the anteriormost scale (the first one to touch the shoulder girdle) to the end of the hypural complex. The scales on the caudal fin itself are indicated by ‘+’. The last two branched dorsal and anal rays articulating on a single pterygiophore are counted as 1½. The number in parentheses after a count indicates the frequency of occurrence of the count. Vertebral counts were obtained from radiographs and counted as total, predorsal, abdominal and caudal vertebrae following Bogutskaya and Coad (2009). Predorsal vertebrae include the Weberian vertebrae and abdominal vertebrae anterior to the first dorsal-fin pterygiophore. Abdominal vertebrae were counted from the first Weberian vertebra to the one just anterior the first caudal vertebra. The first caudal vertebra is that with its haemal spine fully developed (Fig. 2). The count of total and caudal vertebrae includes the last complex vertebra bearing hypurals.

The morphometric characters of the five species of Alburnoides from Turkey were compared by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using a covariance matrix on log–transformed measurements and counts with the software package PAST version 1.8 (Hammer et al. 2001).

We compared the material from the Koca Stream in the Marmara Sea basin with Alburnoides fasciatus from streams and rivers in the eastern Black Sea basin, Alburnoides eichwaldii from Kura and Aras rivers (Kura River drainage) and Alburnoides tzanevi from Rezovska (Rezve), Istranca and Terkos streams in the western Black Sea basin.

No specimens were collected from the type locality of Alburnoides bipunctatus var. smyrnae although we checked it (Melel Stream, Aegean Sea basin) as well as some streams and rivers near İzmir (ancient Smyrna, Aegean Sea basin, Turkey). Thus, we failed to catch any specimens from the population which is known to exist quite sparsely in the province of İzmir where the habitat is heavily degraded. Instead, we examined 8 specimens of Alburnoides from Banaz Stream, a tributary of Büyük Menderes River, Aegean Sea basin. The Banaz Stream population exibitscharacter states similar to those known in Alburnoides bipunctatus var. smyrnae such as the numbers of lateral-line scales and anal-fin branched rays. They have 41–46 total lateral line scales according to Pellegrin (1928: 86) and 42–47 in our material, and 13–15 branched anal–fin rays according to Pellegrin (1928: 86) and 12½–14½ in our material. The population from the Büyük Menderes River is most probably conspecific with Alburnoides bipunctatus var. smyrnae. Therefore we identify them as Alburnoides cf. smyrnae (Fig. 4) and suppose it is a distinct valid species. It is distinguished from all species of Alburnoides in Turkey and adjacent watersheds by fewer total lateral-line scales (42–47, vs. 47–57, exceptfor Alburnoides tzanevi) and a longer caudal fin (length of the upper caudal-fin lobe 28–31% SL, vs. 21–28, see Table 1). Besides characters mentioned, Alburnoides cf. smyrnae differs from Alburnoides tzanevi by having a deeper body (28−30% SL, mean 28.6, vs. 24−27, mean 25.4).

Alburnoides manyasensis can be distinguishedfromAlburnoides cf. smyrnae by having fewer branched anal-fin rays (10½–12½, vs. 12½–14½), a narrower interorbital distance (7–8% SL, mean 7.7, vs. 8–10, mean 8.9), the presence of a hump at nape in specimens larger than 60 mm SL (vs. absent), the ventral keel scaleless about 1/2 to 2/3 of its length (vs. almost entirely scaled) and the upper profile of head slightly convex at level of nostrils (Fig. 3) (vs. markedly convex, see Fig. 4).

The type locality of Alburnoides bipunctatus tzanevi is Rezovska River in Bulgaria, Black Sea drainage. We consider it to be a valid species because it can be easily distinguished from all species of Alburnoides in Turkey and adjacent area by a more slender body (the body depth at dorsal-fin origin about equal to the head length, vs. the body depth at dorsal-fin origin commonly greater than the head length), a considerably pointed snout (vs. slightly pointed or rounded). The detailed metric and meristic characters of Alburnoides tzanevi are given in Tables 1 and 3.

Besides the differences given above, Alburnoides manyasensis is distinguishedfrom Alburnoides tzanevi by the presence of a hump at nape in specimens larger than 60 mm SL (vs. absent) and a deeper caudal peduncle (11–12% SL, mean 11.5, vs. 9–11, mean 9.9). In Alburnoides manyasensis, pigmentation of the lateral line is slightly distinct in anterior part of the body but indistinct in posterior part of body (Fig. 3) and the snout length is markedly shorter than interorbital distance in contrast to Alburnoides tzanevi (Fig. 5) with the lateral line clearly distinct in both the anterior and posterior parts of the body and the snout length about equal to the interorbital distance.

Alburnoides manyasensis differs well from Alburnoides fasciatus by the presence of a hump at nape in specimens larger than 60 mm SL (vs. absent) and in having fewer branched anal-fin rays (10½–12½, vs. 13½–15½) and fewer predorsal vertebrae (13–14, mode 14, vs. 14–15, mode 15). It is further distinguishedfrom Alburnoides fasciatus by a more slender body (29–32% SL, mean 29.4, vs. 25–30, mean 27.8), a narrower head (head width at the anterior eye margin 8–10% SL, mean 8.8, vs. 10–11, mean 10.1) and a longer caudal peduncle (20–25% SL, mean 22.2, vs. 17–21, mean 19.1). In Alburnoides manyasensis, theeye diameter is longer than both the snout length and the interorbital width, while in Alburnoides fasciatus theeye diameter is smaller than both the snout length and the interorbital width (Table 2). In Alburnoides manyasensis, pigmentation of the lateral line is slightly distinct in the anterior part of the body but indistinct in the posterior part (Fig 3) in contrast to Alburnoides fasciatus (Fig. 6)with the lateral line clearly distinct in both the anterior and posterior parts of the body.

Alburnoides manyasensis is easily distinguished from Alburnoides eichwaldii by the presence a hump at nape in specimens larger than 60 mm SL (vs. absent), It further differs from Alburnoides eichwaldii by a more slender body (body depth at dorsal fin origin 29–32% SL, mean 29.4, vs. 25–30, mean 27.5). In Alburnoides manyasensis, theeye diameter is longer than the snout length and the interorbital width, while in Alburnoides eichwaldii the eye diameter is shorter than the snout length and the interorbital width (see Table 1, 2).In Alburnoides manyasensis, pigmentation of the lateral line is slightly distinct in the anterior part of the body but indistinct in the posterior part, while in Alburnoides eichwaldii (Fig. 7) the dots along the lateral line are distinct in both the anterior and posterior parts of the body.

Five Alburnoides species from Turkey (Alburnoides manyasensis, A. cf. smyrnae, A. tzanevi, A. fasciatus and Alburnoides eichwaldii) were compared by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA was performed in using twenty–six morphometric characters of the five Alburnoides species. The PCA separated Alburnoides manyasensis from Alburnoides cf. smyrnae, A. tzanevi, Alburnoides fasciatus and Alburnoides eichwaldii (Fig. 8). Also, there was only marginal overlap between Alburnoides fasciatus and Alburnoides eichwaldii (Fig. 8). Variables loading on the first metric PC I–II are given in Table 4.

Alburnoides eichwaldii: FFR 1013, 3, 60–82 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Aşıkzülal Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 02 Sep. 2006. − FFR 1019, 2, 75–87 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Susuz Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 23 June 2006. – FFR 1022, 112, 39–88 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 20 Sep. 2004. – FFR 1038, 6, 48–63 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Selim Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 04 July 2004. – FFR 1039, 8, 47–87 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Kars Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 19 Aug. 2007. – FFR 1047, 38, 50–107 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan: Hanak Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 12 June 2005. – FFR 1063, 67, 57–106 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Boyalı Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 05 July 2007. – FFR 1071, 29, 31–103 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Sarıkamış Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 03 Sep. 2006.– FFR 1082, 24, 33–94 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Kızılçubuk Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 03 Sep. 2006. – FFR 1084, 7, 34–75 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan: Göle Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 06 Sep. 2006. – FFR 1085, 32, 41–89 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Çıldır Lake, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 14 July 2012. – FFR 1087, 2, 63–78 mm SL; Turkey: Iğdır Prov.: Perçekkale Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 16 July 2012. – FFR 1088, 37, 65–113 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Selim Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 15 July 2012. – FFR 1089, 7, 82–112 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Yalnızçam Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 19 July 2012. – FFR 1090, 10, 39–78 mm SL; Turkey: Iğdır Prov.: Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 17 July 2012. – FFR 1091, 18, 61–96 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Göle Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 14 July 2012. – FFR 1092, 14, 52–91 mm SL; Turkey: Ardahan Prov.: Hanak Stream, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 14 July 2012. – FFR 1093, 19, 63–85 mm SL; Turkey: Kars Prov.: Digor Stream, Aras River, Kura River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 17 July 2012.

Alburnoides fasciatus: FFR 1000, 16, 28–57 mm SL; Turkey: Artvin Prov.: Hopa Stream; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 11 Nov. 2011. – FFR 1003, 30, 62–73 mm SL; Turkey: Artvin Prov.: Aralık Stream, Çoruh River drainage; D. Turan, C. Kaya & E. Doğan, 15 July 2011. – FFR 1004, 6, 52–81 mm SL; Turkey: Artvin Prov.: Hopa Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 23 June 2007. – FFR 1006, 9, 59–91 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: İyidere Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 3 Jan. 2007. – FFR 1007, 3, 46–78 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: İyidere Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 3 May 2009. – FFR 1008, 2, 55–64 mm SL; Turkey: Giresun Prov.: Aksu Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 6 Sep. 2004. –FFR 1009, 43, 37–98 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: İyidere Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 19 May 2008. – FFR 1011, 16, 67–87 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: Büyükçay Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 10 Sep. 2004. – FFR 1024, 2, 67–72 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: Güneysu Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 27 July 2006. – FFR 1046, 60, 41−88 mm SL; Turkey: Artvin Prov.: Aralık Stream, Çoruh River drainage; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 20 July 2007. – FFR 1081, 41, 57–89 mm SL; Turkey: Rize Prov.: Büyükçay Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 29 July 2006.

Alburnoides cf. smyrnae: FFR 1110, 8, 58−77 mm SL; Turkey: Uşak Prov.: Banaz Stream, Menderes River drainage; S. S. Güçlü, 7 Sep. 2012.

Alburnoides tzanevi: FFR 1049, 3, 48−94 mm SL; Turkey: İstanbul Prov.: Istranca Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 15 Aug. 2005. – FFR 1052, 9, 33−80 mm SL; Turkey: İstanbul Prov.: Karamandere Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 10 July 2007. – FFR 1066, 10, 63–81 mm SL; Turkey: İstanbul Prov.: Terkos Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 10 July 2007. – FFR 1068, 17, 63-96 mm SL; Turkey: İstanbul Prov.: Istranca Stream; D. Turan & R. Buyurucu, 15 Aug. 2005.