Details
Cottus gobio
European bullhead is a small sculpin of cold clear streams that hides among stones. It is sensitive to pollution and silted beds, making it a useful indicator of clean streams.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in European brooks, upper rivers, and stony lake margins with clean gravel or cobble. Main habitat types in this guide are freshwater.
Typical length 6-18 cm, weight 5 g-80 g. A large head, broad pectoral fins, and mostly scaleless body suit life pressed to the bottom.
It is nocturnal and usually solitary. It is active at night and shelters under stones or in hollows during the day.
It is carnivorous. Aquatic insects, crustaceans, small fish, and benthic invertebrates are eaten.
Males guard nests under stones and tend the eggs until hatching.
Although still widespread in places, it remains sensitive to habitat change. It is sensitive to pollution and silted beds, making it a useful indicator of clean streams.
