Biodiversity & Conservation

Butterfish - Pholis gunnellus - General information

Pholis gunnellus

Image Robert Keen - Pholis gunnellus at Scapa Flow, Orkneys.
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Distribution map

Pholis gunnellus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Pholis gunnellus is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Judith Oakley Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Most likely present all around Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Primarily found on the shore from mid to low tide mark amongst seaweed, under rocks and in crevices. It is also common subtidally to 40 m. Offshore it occurs amongst rocky areas but also on sand and muddy substrata.
Text page icon Description Pholis gunnellus has an elongate, laterally compressed body up to 25 cm long. This fish has thick fleshy lips and small, conical teeth. A black stripe is present through the eye.The dorsal fin is long, consisting of 75-82 spines, begins just behind the head and reaches to the base of the caudal fin. A series of around 12 distinctive black spots, outlined in white are present along the base of the dorsal fin. The pelvic fin is reduced to a minute spine. The anal fin is long with 39-45 soft fin rays. The caudal fin is rounded. The butterfish is yellowish to reddish brown with irregular darker vertical bars or a mottled pattern on the body.

This review can be cited as follows:

Judith Oakley 2008. Pholis gunnellus. Butterfish. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 31/07/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4105>