Stone loach
📖 Overview
Facultative or obligate air-breathing ; Usually found in flowing stretches of streams and medium-sized rivers with gravel to stone bottom, but also in a variety of other habitats, including sandy canals and lake shores. Larvae are benthic. Larvae and small juveniles prefer sand bottom and slow current, shifting to gravel bottom and fast current when growing. Adults prey on relatively large benthic invertebrates such as gammarids, chironomids, insect larvae. They breed on gravel, sand or among aquatic vegetation. Tolerate moderate organic pollution and stream canalization and very sensitive to pollution by heavy metals . Sensitive to pollution and low oxygen levels, therefore, its presence in a river can be taken as an indication of good water quality .
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 8; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 5 - 6. Distinguished from its congeners in Europe by the following combination of characters: caudal fin usually slightly emarginate (truncate in a few populations); pelvic origin beneath dorsal origin or under branched dorsal rays 1-2; caudal peduncle depth 1.4-2.2 (usually 1.6-2.0) times in its length, 1.2-1.8 times in body depth; often lacking dark blotches along back between nape and dorsal . Body elongated, anteriorly somewhat depressed, posteriorly laterally compressed. Three pairs of mouth barbels. No erectile spine below eye. Posterior margin of caudal fin slightly notched. Caudal fin with 15-17 rays .: fusiform / normal; Cross section: circular.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Stone loach is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
🥚 Reproduction
Spawns once a year for several years in low productivity streams, but exhibits multiple spawning within a season in high productivity environments . Releases eggs in open open water, often close to surface. Eggs drift and adhere to different substrates and are often covered by sand or detritus. Individual females may spawn daily for a short period .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 7.0 - 7.7; dH range: 10 - 15; potamodromous . Temperate; ? - 18°C ; 67°N - 39°N, 6°W - 59°E north of Caucasus, Pyrénées and Alps, from Loire and Rhone drainages eastward; British Isles ( except northern Scotland), southern Sweden and Finland (northward to about 66°N); northeastern Italy; Danube and Vardar drainages (Ref.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🌐 Names & Taxonomy
| Language | Common Names |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧English | Bearded stone loach · European Stone Loach · Siberian stone loach · Stone Loach · groundling |
| 🌍CES | Mrenka mramorovaná |
| 🌍CYM | Gwrachen Farfog · Gwrachod Barfog |
| 🇩🇰Danish | Almindelig smerling · Smerling |
| 🇩🇪German | Bachschmerle · Bartgrundel · Schmerle · Schmerle, Bartgrundel · Sibirische Bartschmerle · Sibirische Steinschmerle |
| 🇫🇮Finnish | Kivennuoliainen |
| 🇫🇷French | Loche franche · Schmerlé |
| 🌍GLE | Cailleach Rua |
| 🇭🇷Croatian | Brkica |
| 🇭🇺Hungarian | Kövi csík |
| 🇮🇹Italian | Cobite barbatello |
| 🌍MKD | Vardarska vretenuska |
| 🇳🇱Dutch | Bermpje |
| 🌍NOB | smerling |
| 🇳🇴Norwegian | Smerling |
| 🇵🇱Polish | Sliz · Sliz pospolity · Sliz syberyjski |
| 🇵🇹Portuguese | Verdemã-da-pedra |
| 🌍RON | Grindel · Molan |
| 🌍SLV | Babica |
| 🇪🇸Spanish | Gobio de río · Lobo de río · Pez lobo |
| 🌍SQI | Mrena e egër · Tufeza |
| 🌍SRP | Brkica |
| 🇸🇪Swedish | Grönling |
| 🌍UKR | Вусатий слиж європейський |
🦠 Common Diseases
The following diseases are known to affect Stone loach.
🔍 Similar Species
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 25 records indexed .
👥 Community & Contribute
No observations yet - be the first to log one!
View all observations for Stone loach ↗Spotted incorrect or outdated data? Submit a correction and our editorial team will review it. Approved edits go live within 48 hours.
Found a factual error, broken data, or inappropriate content? Let us know and we will investigate promptly.