Week 50: European Conger Eel (‘Conger conger’)

The European Conger was @SpeciesofUK from 10^th to 16^th February, 2014.

The European conger is a large species of eel that is common and widespread round the UK and Irish coasts.[1]

European Conger
[Flickr Creative Commons © Frank Gloystein]

Congers are long, powerful and renowned as being fearsome predators.

Week 45: Common Frog (‘Rana temporaria’)

The Common Frog was @SpeciesofUK from 6^th to 12^th January, 2013.

The common frog is one of the UK’s native amphibians and is very widespread.

Common Frog
[Flickr Creative Commons ©  Isfugl]

Week 41: Chub (‘Squalius cephalus’)

The Chub was @SpeciesofUK from 4^th to 17^th November, 2013.

Squalius cephalus, the European Chub, or ‘chub’ for short, is a freshwater fish from the carp family.[1]

Chub
[Wikimedia Commons © Karelj]

Chub are popular with UK anglers who consider them to be one of the wiliest of our fish.[2]

Week 18: Pike (Esox Lucius)

The Pike was @SpeciesofUK from 7^th to 13^th April 2013.

There are seven species of pike and pickerel, which make up the genus 'Esox.' The UK’s pike, Esox lucius, ‘Northern Pike’ or just 'pike,' is the most widespread and well known of these.[1]

Northern pike, 'Esox Lucius'
[Source: Flickr Creative Commons © katdaned]

Pike are found in fresh (and occasionally brackish) water throughout the northern hemisphere, across America, Europe, and Russia.[2] It is a large freshwater predator renowned for its hard-fighting qualities.[3]

Week 8: Sardine (Sardina pilchardus)

The sardine was @SpeciesofUK from 20th to 26th January, 2013.

Sardines are named after the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean, where they traditionally occurred in large numbers.

The sardine species Sardina pilchardus, which is found around the UK, is distributed across the NE Atlantic, from Iceland in the NW to the northern coast of Africa and as far south as Senegal.¹ This species has a particular concentration around the British Isles and the North Sea, making it a true UK species.²

Sardines
[Source: Etrusko25]