Common roach

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Common roach
Rutilus rutilus by Algirdas cropped.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Leuciscinae
Genus: Rutilus
Species:
R. rutilus
Binomial name
Rutilus rutilus
Synonyms [2]
  • Cyprinus rutilusLinnaeus, 1758
  • Leuciscus rutilus(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Cyprinus rubellio Leske, 1774
  • Cyprinus simusHermann, 1804
  • Cyprinus lacustris Pallas, 1814
  • Cyprinus jaculusJurine, 1825
  • Leuciscus decipiens Agassiz, 1835
  • Leuciscus prasinusAgassiz, 1835
  • Cyprinus xanthopterus Vallot, 1837
  • Cyprinus fulvusVallot, 1837
  • Gardonus pigulus Bonaparte, 1841
  • Leucos cenisophiusBonaparte, 1841
  • Leuciscus rutiloidesSelys-Longchamps, 1842
  • Leuciscus selysii Selys-Longchamps, 1842
  • Leuciscus lividus Heckel, 1843
  • Leuciscus pausingeriHeckel, 1843
  • Leucos pigulusBonaparte, 1845
  • Leucos cenisophiusBonaparte, 1845
  • Cyprinus pigus Gronow, 1854
  • Leuciscus jurinii Dybowski, 1862
  • Gardonus ruboculusWalecki, 1863
  • Leuciscus pallens Blanchard, 1866

The roach, or rutilus roach (Rutilus rutilus), also known as the common roach, is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the family Cyprinidae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any species of the genera Rutilus , Leucos and Hesperoleucus , depending on locality. The plural of the term is also roach. [3]

Contents

Description

Roach in an aquarium Rutilus rutilus Prague Vltava 3.jpg
Roach in an aquarium

The roach is a small fish, often reaching no more than about 35 centimetres (14 in); maximum length is 50 cm (20 in). Its body has a bluish-silvery colour and becomes white at the belly. The fins are red. The number of scales along the lateral line is 39–48. [3] The dorsal and anal fins have 12–14 rays. Young specimens have a slender build; older specimens acquire a higher and broader body shape. The roach can often be recognized by the big red spot in the iris above and beside the pupil. [4] Colours of the eye and fins can be very pale, however, in some environments. [3]

In Central and Northern Europe, the common roach can most easily be confused with the common rudd (Scardinius erythropthalmus), the dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), or the ide (Leuciscus idus). They can be distinguished by these characteristics:

Distribution

The common roach is found throughout Europe except for the area around the Mediterranean, and its distribution reaches eastward into Siberia. Eastern Europe and Asia have several subspecies, some with an oceangoing life cycle living around the Caspian and Black Seas. [5] Around the Mediterranean and in northwestern parts of Spain and Portugal, several closely related species occur with no overlap in their distribution. [3]

It was introduced in Australia in the Murray River and coastal drainages of southern New South Wales and Victoria from Europe during the 1860s and 1880s for sport purposes. [3]

Ecology

The common roach is very adaptable and can be found in any freshwater ecosystem, ranging from small ponds to the largest rivers and lakes. It feeds at any depth, although its preferred food sources tend to be in shallower water. It tolerates organic pollution and is one of the last species to disappear in polluted waters; it is also often the most numerous cyprinid in nutrient-poor waters. It also tolerates brackish water. Roach survive in temperatures from close to freezing 4 °C (39 °F) up to around 31 °C (88 °F). [4]

In most parts of its distribution, it is the most numerous fish, but it can be surpassed by the common bream in biomass in water bodies with high turbidity and sparse vegetation. [4] The roach is a shoaling fish and is not very migratory with the exception of the oceangoing subspecies. [4] In the cold season, they migrate to feed in deeper waters, whereas they prefer to feed near the surface during warmer weather. [4]

Roach mostly inhabit freshwater ecosystems that are somewhat vegetated, because larval and young fish are protected by the vegetation and the mature fish can use it for food. The common roach eats a wide range of foods, from plant material, bottom-dwelling (benthic) invertebrates, to worms and maggots. Young fish feed mainly on plankton, until they are of a size to use a wider diet. Roach can adapt to environments where invertebrates are scarce by slowing their growth, maintaining slender body shapes, and maturing early. [3]

Roach may live for 15 years or more. [4]

Roach are known to be parasitised by Rhipidocotyle campanula (fluke), Myxobolus muelleri (myxozoa) and Raphidascaris acus (nematode). [6]

Large female roach before spawning season Rutilusrutilus38cm 2143x1060.JPG
Large female roach before spawning season

Reproduction

The spawning season is generally from March to June, with some variation due to spawning being triggered by the rising of water temperature during spring and summer. Roach generally spawn at the same location each year. Large males form leks, which females enter. [7] Males trail the females and fertilize their eggs. Their behaviour is rough and the fish often jump out of the water. A female can lay up to 100,000 eggs. When the pH of the water is below 5.5, the roach cannot reproduce successfully. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ide (fish)</span> Species of fish

The ide, or orfe, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae found in larger rivers, ponds, and lakes across Northern Europe and Asia. It has been introduced outside its native range into Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It is a popular ornamental fish, usually kept in outdoor ponds in temperate regions from which it often escapes.

A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the common dace. This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family Cyprinidae, mostly in subfamily Leuciscinae.

<i>Rutilus</i> Genus of fishes

Rutilus is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Eurasia. This genus is a widely distributed lineage of cyprinids and ranges from West Europe to East Siberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common dace</span> Species of ray-finned fish

The common dace is a species of freshwater and brackish water ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae which is native to Europe but which has been introduced to other parts of the world. It is a quarry species for coarse anglers.

<i>Leuciscus</i> Genus of fishes

Leuciscus is a genus of fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. They are inland water fishes commonly called Eurasian daces. The genus is widespread from Europe to Siberia. Species broadly distributed in Europe include the common dace Leuciscus leuciscus and the ide L. idus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common rudd</span> Species of fish

The common rudd is a bentho-pelagic freshwater fish, widely spread in Europe and central Asia, around the basins of the North, Baltic, Black, Caspian and Aral seas.

The classification of European rivers comes from the fish fauna found in them. Changes in taxonomic composition relate to physical and chemical changes that occur longitudinally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common bleak</span> Species of fish

The bleak or common bleak is a small freshwater coarse fish of the cyprinid family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common bream</span> Species of fish

The common bream, also known as the freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus Abramis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caspian kutum</span> Species of fish

The Caspian kutum or Caspian white fish is a member of the family Cyprinidae from brackish water habitats of the Caspian Sea and from its freshwater tributaries. It is typically a medium-sized fish, reaching 45–55 cm in length, rarely 70 cm, and weighing up to 4.00 kg, rarely 5.00 kg. It used to be very common and was harvested commercially. The population seems to have collapsed due to overfishing and marine pollution. Its flesh and roe are enjoyed as food, and highly prized in the Gilan and Mazandaran provinces in Iran.

<i>Scardinius</i> Genus of fishes

Scardinius is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd. The rudd can be distinguished from the very similar roach by way of the rudd's upturned mouth, allowing it to pick food items such as aquatic insects from the surface of the water with minimal disturbance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern blacknose dace</span> Species of fish

Eastern blacknose dace is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Rhinichthys. Its name originates from the Old French word "dars" which is the nominative form of the word "dart" in reference to their swimming pattern. The western blacknose dace formerly was considered conspecific. While morphologically the two species are not significantly different, they are allopatric. The eastern blacknose dace is found across the southeast portion of Canada and down along the United States' east coast. It is dark brown to olive on its dorsal surface and silvery white below, the two shades separated by the darkly pigmented lateral line. In the breeding season, males develop darker pigmentation and an orange lateral line. Blacknose dace live in rocky streams and rivers where they feed upon small invertebrates and microscopic biological matter and provide forage for larger fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leuciscinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Leuciscinae is a subfamily of the freshwater fish family Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet shiner</span> Species of fish

The scarlet shiner is a freshwater fish native to the eastern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caspian roach</span> Species of fish

The Caspian roach is a species of roach fish living in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian roach can be distinguished from other roaches by its laterally compressed body, silvery grey iris, rounded snout and grey pectoral pelvic and anal fins with dark margins. The Caspian roach is semi-anadromous and inhabits mostly shallow coastal waters. It enters Volga, Ural, Emba, Terek and Kura drainages for spawning.

Tracheliastes polycolpus is a species of copepod in the family Lernaeopodidae. It is an ectoparasite of a number of freshwater fish in Western Europe, including the beaked dace Leuciscus burdigalensis, the common dace Leuciscus leuciscus, and occasionally a few other fish species. The subspecies Tracheliastes polycolpus baicalensis has been described from Lake Baikal. The parasite attaches itself to the fins of the host, and lives on the mucus and epithelial cells of the host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuptial tubercles</span> Sexual ornaments of fish

Nuptial tubercles or breeding tubercles are noticeable skin roughness or horny nodules that form on male fish during breeding. They are made of keratin, the same material as hair, hooves, and fingernails.

Rutilus stoumboudae is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found only in Greece, in Lake Volvi and is a lacustrine species adapted to still water. It is named for Maria Stoumboudi, in honour of her research on the ecology and conservation of the freshwater fishes of Greece.

References

  1. Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Rutilus rutilus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T19787A9014741. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T19787A9014741.en .
  2. "Synonyms of Rutilus rutilus (Linnaeus, 1758)". Fishbase. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Rutilus rutilus" in FishBase . April 2006 version.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Scottish Government: Marine environment: Roach". Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  5. "Rutilus rutilus caspicus". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2006-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)Rutilus rutilus caspicus (Jakowlew, 1870) Roach fact sheet about a Caspian subspecies. www.caspianenvironment.org
  6. R. Kortet & J. Taskinen (7 May 2004). "Parasitism, condition and number of front head breeding tubercles in roach (Rutilus rutilus L.)". Ecology of Freshwater Fish. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0633.2004.00039.x.
  7. Raine Kortet; Jouni Taskinen; Anssi Vainikka & Hannu Ylönen (August 2004). "Breeding Tubercles, Papillomatosis and Dominance Behaviour of Male Roach (Rutilus rutilus) During the Spawning Period". Ethology. 110 (8): 591–601. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2004.01002.x.