Cobitis almadae, Almada spined loach

Cobitis almadae Doadrio, Sousa-Santos & Robalo, 2023

Almada spined loach
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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); almadae: Name 'almadae' in honor of researcher Vitor Almada who, with an iron will and overcoming his birth blindness, dedicated his life to the study and conservation of the rivers and fauna of Portugal, the type locality of the species.

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

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Temperate

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

Europe: Portugal.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.8 cm SL (female)

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: scales elongated with reduced focus and well-developed lamina circularis; large and low peduncle depth (CPL/BLD > 3.4; APL/BLD > 1.8); a long knife-shaped lamina circularis (Canestrini scale) at the base of the second pectoral fin ray and with a narrow handle in males; lateral ethmoid (suborbital spine) well developed with long narrow mediocaudal, laterocaudal and mediorostral processes; narrow skull with elongated and narrow frontoparietal fontanel; numerous spots on the body in females; well-developed pigmentation in the four Gambetta’s zones; 12-21 (Median = 17.5) small blotches, with third Gambetta’s zone wide and sprinkled with numerous black spots in females, Gambetta’s second and fourth zone spots fused to form two black stripes in males; poorly developed ventral pigmentation in adult individuals, frequently interrupted in the middle of the body; lamina circularis at the base of the second pectoral ray in males; and presence of a large upper caudal spot (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 |

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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 |