Caspian roach

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | image = Stamps of Azerbaijan, 1993-196.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Freyhof, J. |author2=Kottelat, M. |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |title=''Rutilus caspicus'' |article-number=e.T135601A4157650 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T135601A4157650.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | taxon = Rutilus caspicus | display_parents = 3 | authority =(Yakovlev, 1870) | synonyms = ''Rutilus rutilus caspicus'' <br />''Leuciscus rutilus caspicus''

}}

The '''Caspian roach''' ('''''Rutilus caspicus''''') is a species of brackish water ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related fishes.<ref name = "Cof genus">{{Cof genus|genus=Rutilus|access-date-4 Mat 2025}}</ref> This fish is found in the Caspian Sea, commonly known as '''vobla'''. The Caspian roach can be distinguished from other roaches by its laterally compressed body, silvery grey iris, rounded snout and grey pectoral pelvic and anal fins with dark margins. The Caspian roach is semi-anadromous and inhabits mostly shallow coastal waters.<ref name="fishbase">{{FishBase|Rutilus|caspicus|month=February|year=2025}}</ref> It enters Volga, Ural, Emba, Terek and Kura drainages for spawning.<ref name=fishbase/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Rutilus%20rutilus%20caspicus/main.htm |title=''Rutilus rutilus caspicus'' |access-date=2006-05-14 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130703230352/http://www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/eng/fishes/Rutilus%20rutilus%20caspicus/main.htm |archive-date=2013-07-03 }}</ref> Vobla is popular as a dried-fish snack.

Newer research however suggests that ''R. caspicus'' is part of a more widely distributed species of roach, whose range extends to Siberia. The proper name of that species is ''Rutilus lacustris''.<ref name=Levin2016>Levin, B.A., Simonov, E.P., Ermakov, O.A., Levina, M.A., Interesova, E.A., Kovalchuk, O.M., Malinina, Y.A., Mamilov, N.S., Mustafayev, N.J., Pilin, D.V., Pozdeev, I.V., Prostakov, N.I., Roubenyan, H.R., Titov, S.V. & Vekhov, D.A. (2017): [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10750-016-2984-3 Phylogeny and phylogeography of the roaches, genus ''Rutilus'' (Cyprinidae), at the Eastern part of its range as inferred from mtDNA analysis.] ''Hydrobiologia'', 788: 33–46.</ref> In particular another popular as a dried-fish snack, ''taran'' (''Rutilus heckelii'') is thought to differ from ''vobla'' only as a result of different habitat.<ref>Aleksandr Chernitsky, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090519055014/http://rybafish.umclidet.com/pro-voblu-i-taran.htm Про воблу и тарань] </ref>

==Description== The Caspian roach has a typical size of {{cvt|30|–|35|cm}} (maximum published {{cvt|45|cm}}) and a weight of {{cvt|800|g|lboz}} (maximum published {{cvt|2|kg|lboz}}). It can be distinguished from its congeners in the Caspian Sea by these characteristics: * usually 42–44 scales along the lateral line * dorsal fin usually with 9½ branched rays * anal fin usually with 10½ branched rays * rounded snout and subterminal mouth * anal fins and pectoral pelvic are grey with dark margins

==Distribution== The vobla is found in brackish coastal waters of the northern and northwestern Caspian Sea, and enters Volga, Ural, Emba, Terek, and Kura drainages for spawning. There it is locally known as ''vobla''.

==As food== thumb|Salt-dried vobla Salt-dried ''vobla'' is generally eaten without sauces or side dishes. Many people like to eat their vobla with a glass of beer, which lessens the salty taste of the fish.

Vobla could be considered a raw fish, but, in fact, it is neither raw nor cooked, but rather salt-cured. It is soaked in brine for some days and then is thoroughly air-dried for another two, which in the end denatures the protein, as a form of chemical "cooking".

==In popular culture== In 2022, during a protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine one young woman was charged with "discreditation of the Russian Army" because she wrote "Нет в***е" on the pavement. Commonly read as "Нет войне" ("No to War"), the woman argued that she meant "Нет вобле" ("No to Vobla"), in a disdain towards vobla, and the accusers could not disprove her statement. This resulted in vobla becoming a minor internet meme.<ref>[https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5608469 Суд оправдал тюменку по делу о дискредитации ВС РФ, поскольку она протестовала против воблы]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20221014164535/https://medialeaks.ru/1310ndi-str-int-net-voble-meme/ Фраза «Нет вобле» стала мемом. Из протокола о дискредитации ВС РФ — в пикчу «Звёздные воблы»]</ref>

==References== {{Commons category|Rutilus caspicus}} {{Reflist}}

Category:Rutilus Category:Fish of the Caspian Sea Category:Taxa named by Vasily Evgrafovich Yakovlev