Catalan chub
Squalius laietanus
They reach up to 50 cm and 1 kg of weight, but usually adults measure between 20 and 30 cm in length. The body is elongated and covered with well-marked scales. The head is large and the mouth terminal, with the lower lip included inside the upper. The coloration of the body is brown-gold. The fins are usually gray, but sometimes the ventral and anal take on orange colors.
It is an endemic species of Catalonia, from the river Ebro to the rivers Tet and Aglí in Roussillon. It can be found in all kinds of rivers, from mountain areas to mouths, but it has preference for rivers of moderate currents and bottoms of stones or gravels. Food is omnivorous, mainly invertebrates, aquatic plants, algae and small fish.
A few decades ago it suffered a major regression from which it seems to be recovering thanks to the improvement of water quality in some rivers..
Distribution
Ebre nase
Parachondrostoma miegii
They measure up to 25 cm in length. The madrilla stands out for having its mouth located in a ventral position, with the lower lip with a corneal lamina. The body color is silver with greenish hues.
It is an endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula that is mainly distributed in the Ebro basin. In Catalonia it is also found in the river Sènia, and has been introduced in the Fluvià and Llobregat basins.
Its preferred habitat is the middle and lower reaches of rivers, in areas of moderate current and substrates of stones and gravel. It reproduces in spring. The diet is mainly herbivorous, composed of diatoms and filamentous algae
The Ebre nase has diminished or disappeared from the more altered rivers, due to hydrological modifications and pressure from introduced species.
Distribution
Bermejuela
Achondrostoma arcasii
It is a small fish (up to 10 cm). The body is robust, with a rounded head and subterminal mouth. The coloration of the body is dark brown with golden tones on the back and silver on the flanks, where there is usually a dark longitudinal band. The base of the pectoral fins, pelvic and anal is red.
Endemic species of most of the rivers in the north and center of the Iberian Peninsula. In Catalonia the distribution is very localized, as it is only found in small tributaries of the Ebro basin. There are populations introduced into the Francolí and Foix basins.
It inhabits preferably in low-flow, cool water mountain rivers, but it also adapts to living in lakes. Spawn takes place in the spring, between April and June. It feeds on invertebrates and plants.
Distribution
