#2094 · 🐟 fish
European Bitterling
🇳🇱 Bittervoorn ·Rhodeus amarus
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © fabnobili · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Viridiflavus · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. © Viridiflavus · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. © Ivan Pancic · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © Michael Wurm · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. © Vsevolod Rudyi · CC BY 4.0
- 7. Netherlands:© Bradley Rasmussen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. 8482 Spanga, Nederland:© teddydolstra · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 9008 Reduzum, Nederland:© teddydolstra · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Voorschoten, Nederland:© teddydolstra · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The European bitterling ( Rhodeus amarus ) is a temperate freshwater fish belonging to the Acheilognathinae subfamily of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in Europe, ranging from the Rhone River basin in France to the Neva River in Russia. It was originally described as Cyprinus amarus by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1782, and has been referred to in scientific literature as Rhodeus sericeus amarus . It is known simply as "the bitterling" in its native range, where it is...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 55 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #23 most seen of the fish in NL.
- 1,684 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by Marcus Elieser Bloch in 1782 (244 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- European Bitterling
- Nederlands
- Bittervoorn
- scientific name
- Rhodeus amarus
- class
- Actinopterygii
- order
- Cypriniformes
- family
- Acheilognathidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 55
- sightings in Europe
- 1,514
- sightings worldwide
- 1,684
- GBIF records in NL
- 16,111
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1782 by Marcus Elieser Bloch
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 111757, Wikidata Q1402074, GBIF 2360842, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.