European mud whip
| European mud whip | ||||||||||||
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European mud whip |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Misgurnus fossilis | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The European mud-whip ( Misgurnus fossilis ) is a 15 to 30 cm long freshwater fish that occurs in France from the Loire river basin to the north, across Central Europe (north of the Alps) to Eastern Europe. The easternmost occurrence is the river basin of the Volga . In the Balkans it occurs in the Danube basin and north of it. The European mud whip was named Fish of the Year in Germany in 1987 .
features
The European mud whip has an eel-like elongated body that is cylindrical in front and round in cross-section, but slightly flattened at the rear. Its skin is very slimy, the scales very small. The lower mouth is narrow, the upper jaw has six barbels , the lower jaw four. The thorn under the eye, which is typical for many loaches, is missing. The caudal fin is rounded, the side line incomplete. The fish are brown in color, with a dark brown back and lighter sides, which are patterned by a central, broad, dark brown longitudinal stripe and two narrower stripes above and below. The ventral side is light.
- Fin formula : dorsal 3 / 5–6, anal 3 / 8–11, caudal 14–16.
Way of life
It prefers the muddy bottom of stagnant or slowly flowing water as a habitat. It is nocturnal and hides during the day. Its diet consists of invertebrates , larvae of insects , small crustaceans , snails and mussels that are searched for on the bottom of the water. The species has a pronounced intestinal respiration . From the air swallowed on the surface, the oxygen is absorbed in the intestine, which is well supplied with blood. This supports the gill breathing so well that the European mud whip can also be found in very low-oxygen waters. Before the weather changes, the species often becomes restless and often snaps for air on the surface of the water ("weather fish"). Males ( Milchner ) and females ( Rogner ) show a spawning behavior in which they meander around each other. The spawning season is between April and June, during this time the eggs are laid on plants and their roots.
Danger
The European mud whip is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List . In the Red List for Germany it is listed in category 2 ("highly endangered"). The species is listed in Appendix II of the Habitats Directive and is therefore also protected at European level. According to Article 3, Paragraph 1 of this guideline, the member states must designate protected areas for the Natura 2000 network in order to guarantee the continuation or the restoration of a favorable conservation status.
literature
- Fritz Terofal: Steinbach's natural guide, freshwater fish. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-80014-296-1
Individual evidence
- ↑ Overview "Fish of the Year" in Germany. German Fishing Association, accessed on February 26, 2018 .
- ↑ Misgurnus fossilis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Freyhof, J., 2010. Accessed August 12, 2011th
- ↑ [1] ( ZIP ; 20 kB). Red List of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation 2009ff. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
Web links
- European mud whip on Fishbase.org (English)
- www.pivi.de
- Misgurnus fossilis - distribution data from Germany and Austria and further information
Brook Loach (1984) | Bitterling (1985) | Schneider (1986) | European mud lamb (1987) | Brook lamprey , river lamprey (1988) | Bullhead (1989) | Brown trout (1990) | Minnow (1991) | Atlantic salmon (1992) | Cod (1993) | Nose (1994) | European eel (1995) | Sea trout (1996) | European grayling (1997) | Strömer (1998) | North Sea Bill † (1999) | Atlantic salmon (2000) | European sturgeon (2001) | Burbot (2002) | Barbel (2003) | Allis shad (2004) | Brown Trout (2005) | Bullhead (2006) | Tench (2007) | Bitterling (2008) | European eel (2009) | Crucian carp (2010) | Grayling (2011) | Lamprey (2012) | Trout (2013) | European sturgeon (2014) | Huchen (2015) | Pike (2016) | Flounder (2017) | Three-spined stickleback (2018) | Atlantic salmon (2019)