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Lota lota  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Burbot
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Lota lota
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United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Burbot, Burbot, Ellpout
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Recorded from south of the Great Lakes area (Ref. 10294). Also found in Green Bay and Lake Michigan (Ref. 43215). Illegally introduced in the upper Colorado river basin (Ref. 87934). Also Ref. 5723.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: https://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Lotidae (Hakes and burbots)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Налим, 江鳕, Lotte de rivière, ... more

Main reference

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba. 1990. (Ref. 1371)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 152 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27547); common length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 34.0 kg (Ref. 27547); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 556)

Length at first maturity
 Lm ?, range 35 - 40 cm

Environment

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 7.5 - ? ; dH range: 18 - ?; potamodromous (Ref. 59043); depth range 1 - 700 m (Ref. 1998)

Climate / Range

Temperate; 4°C - 18°C (Ref. 2059), preferred ?; 78°N - 40°N, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution

Circumarctic in freshwater (Ref. 1371). Europe: Loire drainage, France eastward to White, Barents and Arctic Sea basins; upper Volga drainage; western Caspian basin; rivers draining to Black Sea; Rhône drainage (France); in Italy native only in Po drainage; eastrward England (now extirpated). In Siberia eastward to River Lena. Reported that populations from eastern Siberia and North America belong to a different species, Lota maculosa (Ref. 59043).
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 67-96; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 58 - 84; Vertebrae: 50 - 67. Diagnosed from all other freshwater fishes in Europe by its pelvic fin origin anterior to pectoral fin origin and by having one central barbel on lower jaw (Ref. 59043). Distinguished by the long second dorsal fin, at least 6 times as long as the first, and a single barbel on the chin (Ref. 27547). Gill rakers short (Ref. 27547). First dorsal short; second dorsal and anal fins joined to caudal; pectorals short and rounded; caudal rounded (Ref. 27547), with 40 rays (Ref. 2196). Color is yellow, light tan to brown with a pattern of dark brown or black on the body, head and fins (Ref. 1371). Pelvic fins pale, others dark and mottled (Ref. 27547).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

The only member of Lotidae family which lives in freshwater. Crepuscular and nocturnal (Ref. 11941). Adults are found in well oxygenated flowing waters and large, deep lakes as well as large rivers with slow-moving current (Ref. 5723, 10294). They occur from estuaries of large lowland rivers as well as from small mountain streams, preferring deep waters in summer (Ref. 59043). They seek shelter under rocks, in crevices on the river banks, among roots of trees and dense vegetation (Ref. 30578, 10294). Those in rivers tend to congregate in deep holes throughout the year, except at spawning (Ref. 27547). Movements into shallower water during summer nights are related to feeding (Ref. 1998). Smaller individuals feed on insect larvae, crayfish, mollusks and other invertebrates with a changing preference for fishes in larger individuals (Ref. 1998, 10294). In Central Europe, males mature at 2 years while females at 3 years (Ref. 59043). Spawning occurs from November to March, at temperatures below 6°C in groups of up to 20 interlaced individuals forming a ball about 60 cm in diameter which constantly moves and rolls on the bottom while releasing eggs and sperms (Ref. 59043). May undertake short spawning migrations (Ref. 59043). Eggs are semipelagic, 1.2-1.8 mm in diameter and slightly sticky hatching after 40-70 days (Ref. 59043). Larvae are positively phototactic, floating below the surface in March and April (Ref. 59043). Larvae feed on drifting invertebrates or zooplankton (Ref. 59043). Source of oil. Sold mainly salted. Liver is sold smoked or canned in Europe (Ref. 1998). Processed into fishmeal (Ref. 1998). Because of its nocturnal habits and its slow movements, this fish is not very much appreciated by sport fishermen. Flesh is tasty but a little dry (Ref. 30578). Locally threatened due to river regulation (Ref. 59043).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: experimental; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 3.8   ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.05; tm=2-7; tmax=20)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Very high