Pictures in this section are copyright Dave Lewis, Nick Giles and Pat O'Reilly. All rights reserved.
Cottus gobio - Bullhead
Bullheads are found in clean, fast-flowing shallow rivers in many parts of
Wales, whereas in much of Europe these are now quite rare species.
Bullheads are also sometimes found in shallow gravel-bottomed lakes. They
lay their eggs in March and April, and the male guards the eggs until they
hatch (although once they hatch he may eat a few of the youngsters if they
come close enough).
These small, bottom-hugging fish are also known as
Miller's Thumbs. They rarely grow to greater than 10 cm long. (A bullhead weighing just 1 oz currently holds the British rod-caught record for this species.) Larger
species such as barbel are not averse to the occasional bullhead for
lunch, despite the protection of the spiny dorsal and pelvic fins and the
backward-curved spines that project from each side of the large head.
