Cobitis mellaria, Gibraltar spined loach

Cobitis mellaria Doadrio & Perea, 2023

Gibraltar spined loach
Upload your photos and videos
 Google image
Image of Cobitis mellaria (Gibraltar spined loach)
No image available for this species;
drawing shows typical species in Cobitidae.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cypriniformes (Carps) > Cobitidae (Spined loaches)
Etymology: Cobitis: Greek, kobitis, -idos = a kind of sardine; also related with the voice Greek, kobios, Latin gobius = gudgeon (Ref. 45335); mellaria: Name 'mellaria' from from roman site placed on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Valle River.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Temperate

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Europe: Spain.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 137754)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 3; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 5. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following set of characters: low peduncle depth (CPL/BLD > 3.5; APL/BLD 1.2-1.7); lamina circularis at the base of the second pectoral fin ray and with convex outer edge. Well-developed lateral ethmoid (suborbital spine) with short laterocaudal process; narrow skull with elongated frontoparietal fontanel; less variable pigmentation pattern; well-developed pigmentation in the four Gambetta’s zones and no ventral pigmentation in adults; Gambetta’s fourth row has 1015 blotches, Median = 11; caudal fin base with two spots; lamina circularis at the base of the second pectoral ray present in males; and large upper caudal spot present (Ref. 137754).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Doadrio, I., C. Sousa-Santos, J. Robalo and S. Perea, 2023. Description of three new species of the genus Cobitis L., 1758 (Actinopterygii, Cobitidae) in the Iberian Peninsula. Limnetica 43(2):1-22. (Ref. 137754)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search |