Common dace | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
Genus: | Leuciscus |
Species: | L. leuciscus |
Binomial name | |
Leuciscus leuciscus | |
Synonyms [2] | |
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The common dace (Leuciscus leuciscus) is a species of freshwater and brackish water ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae which is native to Europe but which has been introduced to other parts of the world. It is a quarry species for coarse anglers.
The common dace differs from other members in the genus Leuciscus found in Europe by its inferior mouth, slightly longer upper jaw which has the tip of the upper lip level with the centre line of the eye and the lack of an obvious snout. [2] It has a yellowish iris and a body which is covered in large silvery scales, the lateral line having 49–52 scales. The anal fin has a concave margin and the caudal fin is forked. [3] The dorsal fin has 2–3 spines and 7–9 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 8–9 soft rays. The maximum size attained is a total length of 30 centimetres (12 in). [2]
The common dace is native to Europe and northern Asia where its occurs in the basins of the North Sea, Baltic Sea, White Sea and Barents Sea. It also occurs in the basin of the Caspian Sea in the drainage systems of the Volga and Ural Rivers and in the Black Sea basin it is found in the Danube and the Dnieper. In France it occurs in the Seine River drainage and in the drainages of the Rhone and Arc which flow into the Mediterranean. In the Danube main river of Romania as well as in Scandinavia north of 69°N and most of central Finland this species has a localised distribution. The populations from Siberia and East Asia are normally assigned to Leuciscus baicalensis and Leuciscus dzungaricus .
This species has been widely introduced in areas of Europe where it did not previously occur. For example, it has become established in Ireland since the early 1900s, having been taken there as a bait fish to catch larger fish such as pike. [2] Following its introduction in Ireland, it has benefited from parasite release, meaning that with its introduction it has lost its normal set of parasites and might thus have a competitive advantage over native species. [4]
The common dace is found in rivers and streams, sometime occurring in lakes or in the brackish water at the mouths of rivers. [3] It is a surface dwelling fish which gather in shoals of adults in the lower reaches of rivers and backwaters during the winter. Some adults remain upstream in the spawning grounds all winter as well. At spawning time, in March and April, they migrate up stream to lay their pale yellow eggs on shallow gravel beds in fast flowing streams, the eggs attach to gravel and stones. The juveniles hide among the cavities and roots in the bankside vegetation and as they mature they move into faster flowing water. The main food for common dace is small invertebrates. [2]
The common dace is fished for by coarse anglers and the British rod caught record is 1.4 pounds (0.64 kg). [5] In some parts of Europe it is eaten [2] but it is not highly regarded as a food fish. [6] It is used as bait by anglers [2] and that is thought to be the mechanism by which it was introduced to and spread in Ireland. [6]
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater and fresh water together, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root brak. Certain human activities can produce brackish water, in particular civil engineering projects such as dikes and the flooding of coastal marshland to produce brackish water pools for freshwater prawn farming. Brackish water is also the primary waste product of the salinity gradient power process. Because brackish water is hostile to the growth of most terrestrial plant species, without appropriate management it is damaging to the environment.
Squalius cephalus is a European species of freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It frequents both slow and moderate rivers, as well as canals and still waters of various kinds. This species is referred to as the common chub, European chub, or simply chub.
The ide, or orfe, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae found in larger rivers, ponds, and lakes across Northern Europe and Asia. It has been introduced outside its native range into Europe, North America, and New Zealand. It is a popular ornamental fish, usually kept in outdoor ponds in temperate regions from which it often escapes.
Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens.
Thymallus thymallus, the grayling or European grayling, is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. It is the only species of the genus Thymallus native to Europe, where it is widespread from the United Kingdom and France to the Ural Mountains in Russia, and Balkans on the south-east, but does not occur in the southern parts of the continent. It was introduced to Morocco in 1948, but it does not appear to have become established there.
The zander, sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which also includes perch, ruffe and darter. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popular game fish and has been introduced to a variety of localities outside its native range. It is the type species of the genus Sander.
The yellow perch, commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samuel Latham Mitchill from New York. It is closely related, and morphologically similar to the European perch ; and is sometimes considered a subspecies of its European counterpart. Other common names for yellow perch include American perch, coontail, lake perch, raccoon perch, ring-tail perch, ringed perch, and striped perch.
The roach, or rutilus roach, also known as the common roach, is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the family Cyprinidae, native to most of Europe and western Asia. Fish called roach can be any species of the genera Rutilus and Hesperoleucus, depending on locality. The plural of the term is also roach.
The common bleak is a small freshwater coarse fish of the cyprinid family.
The European bullhead is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bullhead, and cob.
The Danube bleak or Caspian shemaya is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Iran, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Slovakia, Moldova, Greece, Czechia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Common percarina is a species of fish in the family Percidae. It is found in northwestern Black Sea basin in estuaries and coastal lakes, and in the lower reaches of rthe rivers that drain into that part of the Black Sea. It is a carnivorous species.
The Bearn beaked dace is a putative species of cyprinid fish, recorded from several localities in the Adour drainage in France.
The river chub is a minnow in the family Cyprinidae. It is one of the most common fishes in North American streams.
The bullhead minnow is a species of freshwater demersal fish, native to the southern United States.
Gobio gobio, or the gudgeon, is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. This small fish is widely distributed in fresh-water streams and lakes across central and temperate Eurasia.
Tracheliastes polycolpus is a species of copepod in the family Lernaeopodidae. It is an ectoparasite of a number of freshwater fish in Western Europe, including the beaked dace Leuciscus burdigalensis, the common dace Leuciscus leuciscus, and occasionally a few other fish species. The subspecies Tracheliastes polycolpus baicalensis has been described from Lake Baikal. The parasite attaches itself to the fins of the host, and lives on the mucus and epithelial cells of the host.
The Savannah darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the eastern United States, where it occurs in the Edisto, Combahee, Broad and Savannah River drainages in South Carolina and Georgia. It inhabits gravel riffles, gravel and sand runs of creeks and small rivers. This species can reach a length of 7.4 cm (2.9 in).
The northern pearl dace is a freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. It occurs in Atlantic, Hudson Bay, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins in the northern United States and Canada. Its preferred habitat is cool, clear headwater streams, bog drainage streams, ponds and small lakes, and in stained, peaty waters of beaver ponds, usually over sand or gravel.
The Luciopercinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish, classified within the family Percidae, the subfamily includes the pike-perches and zingels. The pike-perches of the genus Sander have an Holarctic distribution while the zingels of the tribe Romanichthyini are found in Europe. They are largely freshwater species but some can be found in brackish water.