Gudgeon is the common name for a number of small

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...

fish of the families Butidae,

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest v ...

Eleotridae Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of th ...

or Ptereleotridae. Most gudgeons are elongate, bottom-dwelling fish, many of which live in rapids and other fast moving water.

Families

– Various cyprinid gudgeons, members of the subfamily Gobioninae (e.g. genera '' Gobio'', '' Romanogobio''), are found in lakes and rivers throughout Europe. Most commonly gudgeon refers to the species '' Gobio gobio''. This is a

rheophilic A rheophile is an animal that prefers to live in fast-moving water. Examples of rheophilic animals Insects *Many aquatic insects living in riffles require current to survive. *'' Epeorus sylvicola'', a rheophilic mayfly species ( Ephemeropter ...

and schooling species that occurs both in

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

habitats across continental Europe and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. ''G. gobio'' feeds on a variety of

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. This gudgeon is an easy fish to catch for beginners. A British rod caught a record 5 ounce gudgeon in 1990 on the River Nadder,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershir ...

. *

– Known commonly as gudgeons, many species in the family

are also called sleeper gobies. Unlike gobies, Eleotridae gudgeons have paired

ventral fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous Homology may refer to: Sciences Biology *Homology (biology), any characteristic of biological organisms that is der ...

s rather than a fused ventral fin.Helfman G., Collette B., & Facey D.: The Diversity of Fishes, Blackwell Publishing, p 264, 1997, In Australia, gudgeons from the family Eleotridae are widespread and are popular for aquariums. * Ptereleotridae – Gudgeons in the family Ptereleotridae are primarily marine species and are often associated with tropical coral reefs.

Gallery

File:Gobio gobio.jpg, '' Gobio gobio'', the gudgeon File:Ptereleotris microlepis.jpg, Blue gudgeon, ''Ptereleotris microlepis''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gudgeon (Fish) Cyprinidae Eleotridae Ptereleotridae Fish common names