The three-bearded rockling (''Gaidropsarus vulgaris'') is found in European waters from the central Norwegian coast and the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, through the North Sea, and around the British Isles to the region around the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

. They can grow to a maximum length of 60 cm (2 ft). Their coloration varies from dusky to pale, with large chocolate-brown spots on the head and body, and fin coloration varies with location. They also may have xanthochromism, which is colour condition characterized by overt of yellow-orange-red pigmentation, because of high levels of xanthophores in the skin. Three barbels, one on the bottom jaw and two on the snout, provide the fish with its common name.

References

* * Quigley, D. T., Lord, R., Macgabhann, D., & Flannery, K. (2017). First records of xanthochromism in three-bearded rockling Gaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824) and pollack Pollachius pollachius (Linnaeus, 1758). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 33(6), 1208–1210. doi:10.1111/jai.13456

External links

three-bearded rockling The three-bearded rockling (''Gaidropsarus vulgaris'') is found in European waters from the central Norwegian coast and the Faroe Islands, through the North Sea, and around the British Isles to the region around the western Mediterranean. They ca ...

Fauna of the British Isles

Fish of Europe Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of the North Sea

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