Ynghylch

A small, slender fish, the gudgeon has two moustache-like 'barbels' around its mouth which it uses to detect its prey among the sand and gravel on the riverbed. Found in sandy and gravelly canals, rivers and streams, it is a bottom-feeder, hunting out small invertebrates, such as mayfly larvae and freshwater shrimps, as well as fish eggs. It spawns during spring and summer; the female lays sticky eggs among weeds and stones that hatch out about 10 days after being fertilised.