Wednesday 22 May
In the News: Nature health check finds UK wildlife to be in trouble

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Cypriniformes |
| Family | Cobitidae |
| Genus | Cobitis (1) |
The Northern Iberian spined-loach is a small, bottom-dwelling member of the loach family with an elongated, cylindrical body, covered with indistinct round scales and marked with rows of black spots, which are largest towards the underside. The base of the tail is very long and narrow, and the dorsal fin is located towards the rear of the body. The mouth is situated below the head, and is surrounded by three pairs of fleshy barbels, and, as in many loaches, the Northern Iberian spined-loach has a split, erectile spine below the eye, used in defence against predators (2) (3) (4). Male and female Northern Iberian spined-loaches are similar in appearance (2) (3).
Relatively little is known about the biology of the Northern Iberian spined-loach. A rather short-lived fish (8), it feeds mainly on aquatic invertebrates, including fly larvae and tiny crustaceans, as well as on unicellular algae (9).
Spawning occurs in spring, between March and May (2) (3) (10), the female selecting a gravel bottom with strong currents, and using the tail fin to dig a trench into which around 200 large eggs are deposited (2) (3). The Northern Iberian spined-loach is reported to form distinct pairs during breeding, and to live for up to three years (8).
TopThe Northern Iberian spined-loach is one of three endemic Iberian loaches, and is restricted to the Duero, Ebro and Tajo river basins of northern Spain and Portugal (1) (2) (3) (5) (6).
TopThis loach inhabits the upper and middle reaches of rivers, where dissolved oxygen levels are higher, and prefers to live in clear, shallow water with a gravel or stony bottom (1) (2) (3) (6). Records of the Northern Iberian spined-loach’s occurrence in reservoirs need confirmation (7).
TopThe Northern Iberian spined-loach is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1).
TopThe Northern Iberian spined-loach has declined in abundance and range in recent decades, and has now disappeared from parts of the Duero and Ebro rivers, with remaining populations also becoming more fragmented. The main threats to the species include gravel and water extraction, water pollution, dam construction, the destruction of spawning areas, and the introduction of exotic fish such as pike (Esox lucius), which may act as predators, competitors, or vectors of disease (1) (2) (3) (6) (7).
The decline in the Northern Iberian spined-loach population is predicted to continue at the current rate, putting the species at ever-increasing risk of extinction (1).
TopThe Northern Iberian spined-loach is listed as Vulnerable in the Spanish Red Book (3) and as Endangered in the Portuguese Red Book (7). It is also listed on Annex III of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) (11).
No specific conservation measures are known to be in place for the conservation of the Northern Iberian spined-loach (3), but recommended actions include effectively controlling non-native fish introductions, controlling gravel extraction, protecting the areas of river in which this small loach lives, undertaking further research into its distribution, biology and ecology, and seeking to minimise the impacts of water extraction and pollution on the aquatic ecosystem (2) (3) (7).
TopFind out more about the Northern Iberian spined-loach:
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This species is affected by global climate
change. To learn about climate change
and the species that are affected,
visit our climate change pages.
Image credit
© Roger Tidman / www.photoshot.com
NHPA/Photoshot Holdings Ltd
29-31 Saffron Hill
London
EC1N 8SW
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7421 6003
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7421 6006
sales@photoshot.com
http://www.photoshot.com
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.