Stone loach
Barbatula barbatula (Linnaeus, 1758)
The stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) is a bony fish in the family Nemacheilidae, within the order Cypriniformes. It is also called the groundling, European stone loach or Pyrenean stone loach, and its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Quick facts about the stone loach
The IUCN Red List global assessment places the stone loach in the Least Concern (LC) category, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the stone loach
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the stone loach live?
Not recorded
What is the stone loach?
The stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of 33 species in the genus Barbatula. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowing water where they can search for food. The most distinctive feature of this small fish is the presence of barbels around the bottom jaw, which they use to detect their invertebrate prey. The body is a mixture of brown, green and yellow.
From the Wikipedia article “Stone loach” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stone_loach&oldid=1368492159), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the stone loach sound like?
Is the stone loach endangered?
The stone loach is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the stone loach classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyNemacheilidae
- genusBarbatula
- SpeciesBarbatula barbatula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Barbatula barbatulus, Barbatula oreas, Barbatula vardarensis, Cobitis barbatula, Cobitis barbatula parisiensis, Cobitis furstenbergii, Cobitis pironae, Cobitis variabilis, Nemacheilus barbatulus, Nemacheilus barbatulus barbatulus, Nemacheilus barbatulus f. anglicana, Nemachilus barbatulus, Nemachilus barbatulus var. caucasicus, Nemachilus barbatulus vardarensis, Noemacheilus barbatulus, Noemacheilus barbulatus, Orthrias barbatulus, Orthrias oreas
Other names and names in other languages (53)
- European stone loachEnglish
- GroundlingEnglish
- Pyrenean stone loachEnglish
- AnguilónAragonese
- Галец звычайныBelarusian
- ТлъстакBulgarian
- Обикновен гулешBulgarian
- ЙăпăлтакChuvash
- mřenka mramorovanáCzech
- Gwrachen FarfogWelsh
- Gwrachod BarfogWelsh
- SmerlingDanish
- Almindelig smerlingDanish
- ZirtaGerman
- BachschmerleGerman
- BartgrundelGerman
- SchmerleGerman
- Locha de PiedraSpanish
- Lobo de ríoSpanish
- Harilik trullingEstonian
- Mazkar arantzagabeBasque
- pyreneidennuoliainenFinnish
- kivennuoliainenFinnish
- Loche de QuignardFrench
- Loche du LanguedocFrench
- Loche francheFrench
- Loche franche communeFrench
- BrkicaCroatian
- kövi csíkHungarian
- Cobite barbatelloItalian
- フクドジョウJapanese
- ヨーロッパフクドジョウJapanese
- 시베리아종개Korean
- ŠlyžysLithuanian
- Paprastasis šlyžysLithuanian
- Bārdainais akmeņgrauzisLatvian
- bermpjeDutch
- ŚlizPolish
- Śliz pospolityPolish
- Nemacheilus barbatulusPortuguese
- GrindelRomanian
- GoletzRussian
- Голец французскийRussian
- Обыкновенный голецRussian
- Усатый голецRussian
- СлыжRusyn
- slíž severnýSlovak
- BabicaSlovenian
- БркицаSerbian
- GrönlingSwedish
- Слиж звичайнийUkrainian
- Слиж європейськийUkrainian
- 條鬚鰍Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the stone loach
Other species in the same genus Barbatula.
Lez stone loach
Barbatula quignardi
Ohrid stone loach
Barbatula sturanyi
Zeta stone loach
Barbatula zetensis
Continental stone loach
Barbatula nuda
CompareStone loach vs Lez stone loachStone loach vs Ohrid stone loachStone loach vs Zeta stone loachStone loach vs Barbatula altayensis
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the stone loach?
The stone loach is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Nemacheilidae in the order Cypriniformes.
What is the scientific name of the stone loach?
The scientific name of the stone loach is Barbatula barbatula, placed in the genus Barbatula.
Is the stone loach endangered?
No. The stone loach is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the stone loach have?
The stone loach is also called the groundling, European stone loach and Pyrenean stone loach.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Stone loach (Barbatula barbatula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/stone-loach
“Stone loach (Barbatula barbatula).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/stone-loach.
@misc{stone_loach_2026,
title = {Stone loach (Barbatula barbatula)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/stone-loach},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}