---
title: "Ruffe"
description: "Gymnocephalus cernua — Fish. 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/ruffe
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Ruffe

> Gymnocephalus cernua — Fish. 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.

- Scientific name: *Gymnocephalus cernua*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 1322
- Wikidata: [Q187981](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q187981)
- iNaturalist taxon: [101887](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/101887)

## Names

- en: Ruffe
- de: Kaulbarsch
- es: Acerina
- fr: Grémille
- nl: Pos
- pt: Acerina eurasiana
- pl: Jazgarz

## Countries with the most observations

RU (545), FI (104), UA (72), GB (56), DE (49), FR (43), CZ (42), PL (41), US (41), DK (35), NL (35), CA (23)

## Summary

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: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruffe

## Photo

![Ruffe](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/ruffe/medium.jpg)

Photo: Tomas Pocius · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/389400243

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/ruffe?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).