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rockling

Gaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Gaidropsarus vulgaris

Gaidropsarus vulgaris

Gervais et Boulart · Public domain · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The three-bearded rockling (Gaidropsarus vulgaris) is found in European waters from the central Norwegian coast and the Faroe Islands, through the North Sea, and around the British Isles to the region around the western Mediterranean. They can grow to a maximum length of 60 cm (2 ft). Their coloration varies from dusky to pale, with large chocolate-brown spots on the head and body, and fin coloration varies with location. They also may have xanthochromism, which is colour condition characterized by overt of yellow-orange-red pigmentation, because of high levels of xanthophores in the skin. Three barbels, one on the bottom jaw and two on the snout, provide the fish with its common name.

Wikipedia contributors, Three-bearded rockling; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:33:49.908426+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Gaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824)
Name authority
(Cloquet, 1824)
Common name
rockling
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Teleostei
Order
Gadiformes
Family
Gaidropsaridae
Genus
Gaidropsarus
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. gigaclassActinopterygii
  8. superclassActinopteri
  9. classTeleostei
  10. orderGadiformes
  11. familyGaidropsaridae Jordan & Evermann, 1898
  12. genusGaidropsarus Rafinesque, 1810
  13. speciesGaidropsarus vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Gaidropsarus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Gaidropsarus granti (Regan, 1903)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Arctic rocklingGaidropsarus argentatus (Reinhardt, 1837)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Gaidropsarus insularum Sivertsen, 1945GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
threadfin rocklingGaidropsarus ensis (Reinhardt, 1837)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Gaidropsarus capensis (Kaup, 1858)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Gaidropsarus novaezealandiae (Hector, 1874)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
shore rocklingGaidropsarus mediterraneus (Linnaeus, 1758)GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Gaidropsarus mauli Biscoito & Saldanha, 2018GaidropsaridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 9 records assigned to Gaidropsaridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Onos vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824) (Cloquet, 1824)synonym
Mustela vulgaris Cloquet, 1824 Cloquet, 1824synonym
Onos maculata Risso, 1827 Risso, 1827synonym
Gaidropsarus vulagris (Cloquet, 1824) (Cloquet, 1824)synonym
Motella vulgaris (Cloquet, 1824) (Cloquet, 1824)synonym

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126458 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:6JVNH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.