Its areal spreads over the catchments of the Baltic, Black, Azov, Caspian and AralSeas. Spirlins are very rare in the Pskov-PeipsiLake. This is a small fish up to 13 cm long, visually similar to bleaks, but it is a bit wider, and displays two black dashed lines along the lengthwise one. Compared to bleaks, spirlins are more thermophilic. In rivers it sticks to sites with faster currents, and is rarer than bleaks in ponds and lakes. Constantly moving, it inhabits surface layers. The spirlin intermittently spawns on to rocks. In the Far East there is a similar group of species – skygazer, Mongolian redfin and lakeskygazer – with a leathery keel on their bellies, but only past the base of pelvic fins.
The species is red-listed in Russia.
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