| Stone moroko | |
|---|---|
| Stone moroko | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Gobioninae |
| Genus: | Pseudorasbora |
| Species: | P. parva |
| Binomial name | |
| Pseudorasbora parva Temminck & Schlegels, 1846 |
|
Stone moroko (also known as topmouth gudgeon), Pseudorasbora parva, is a fish belonging to the Cyprinid family, native to Asia, but introduced and now considered an invasive species in Europe. The fish's size is rarely above 8cm and usually 2 to 7.5cm long.
The fish was introduced in the 1960s into ponds in Nucet, Dâmboviţa County, Romania and it made its way into Danube, then spreading throughout Europe. They pose danger to another species such as the sunbleaks (Leucaspius delineatus), as they are the carrier of a parasite (Sphaerothecum destruens[1]) which while not damaging to the topmouth gudgeon, attacks other fishes like the sunbleaks, which are unable to spawn and have a higher mortality when infected.[2]