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FISH GUIDE · Freshwater

Pyrenean gudgeon: identification, habitat and fishing guide

Gobio lozanoi

Lozano's gudgeon corresponds to Gobio lozanoi, a species distinct from Gobio gobio. Findings from an Iberian population or another gudgeon do not automatically describe all Adour populations.

Catalogue names : Pyrenean gudgeon. Forms and names may vary between habitats.

Editorial review : · This species guide is not permission to fish. Read the precautions below and check the current rules for your location before targeting a species. Some species or populations are protected.

Geographical distribution

Documented presence includes: Adour drainage in France ; Ebro drainage in Spain ; Bidasoa drainage in Spain. The Iberian Peninsula is not treated as a continuous or wholly native range.

  • Documented presence : Adour drainage in France
  • Documented presence : Ebro drainage in Spain
  • Documented presence : Bidasoa drainage in Spain

Documented areas, not an exhaustive list. Presence in a region does not imply presence in every water body or permission to fish.

Distribution sources

Identification

Gobio lozanoi has, among other features, a broad head, contrasting lateral markings and a particular combination of scale rows. Compare these features together with other Gobio species; the basin name is insufficient. No removal of scales is recommended.

The MNCN-CSIC account specifies, among other features, 36–39 lateral-line scales and three rows below it, with a broad head and short snout. Compare the combination without removing scales; these characters do not guarantee identification from every photograph.

Habitat

Watercourses of the Iberian Peninsula and south-western France, including the Adour; water over sandy or gravelly substrates, with currents varying by site. Distribution does not replace taxonomic identification.

Diet

In a summer study of the River Larraun in northern Spain, Gobio lozanoi ate mainly chironomid and caddisfly larvae and terrestrial invertebrates. This local result is not generalised to the whole year or the entire Adour basin.

Behaviour

The Larraun study published in 2006 describes a more generalist feeding strategy as the studied fish increased in size. It sets neither a daily timetable nor universal behaviour for all populations.

The MNCN-CSIC synthesis also describes a gregarious, generally sedentary species capable of dispersal and upstream movements. It cites fish-pass passage in the Ebro; this is not an angling calendar.

Fishing context and precautions

For an incidental encounter with Lozano’s gudgeon, compare the broad head, snout and already visible scale rows. A location within the basin does not replace these criteria; do not use diagnostic sampling or move the fish to resolve uncertainty.

The Haute-Vienne federation recommends wet hands, support without squeezing and brief air exposure. General advice, without a trial on this taxon; check local retention and release rules.

A distinctive feature

Gobio lozanoi was described in 2004, then redescribed from Adour material in the French study of 2005.

Sources and review

Each reference includes its access date. Overall editorial review: . Local conditions and regulations may change.

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