Spined Loach Cobitis taenia

The Spined Loach (Cobitis taenia) is a small, retiring fish of clean, slow-flowing rivers with sandy or silty substrates, where it spends much of its time buried or hidden amongst riverbed material. Scarce and localised in Britain, it is largely confined to rivers of central and eastern England. In Suffolk it is associated with the Breckland river systems – particularly the Little Ouse – where appropriate water quality and substrate conditions persist. Sensitive to siltation, dredging, and pollution, it is easily overlooked owing to its nocturnal habits and cryptic behaviour, and is a priority species for river conservation in the county. Image: © Ewout Knoester, iNaturalist.

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