Ruffe: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the ruffe lives – recorded in 15 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Gymnocephalus cernua
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	15 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Perciformes
Family	Percidae

Where does the ruffe live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the ruffe in 15 countries and territories across Europe and North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the ruffe endangered?

The ruffe’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the ruffe?

The ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua) is a ray-finned fish in the order Perciformes and the family Percidae, genus Gymnocephalus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the ruffe

The ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernua), also known as the Eurasian ruffe or pope, is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America as an invasive species and is causing unfortunate results as it is reproducing faster than other species. Its common names are ambiguous – "ruffe" may refer to any local member of its genus Gymnocephalus, which as a whole is native to Eurasia.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ruffe (revision 1361060134), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q187981 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).