The Bearn beaked dace (''Leuciscus bearnensis'') is a putative species of
cyprinid
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest ver ...
fish, recorded from several localities in the
Adour drainage in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Description
The Bearn beaked dace is distinguished from other western European members of the genus ''
Leuciscus
''Leuciscus'' is a genus of fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. They are inland water fishes commonly called Eurasian daces. The genus is widespread from Europe to Siberia. Species broadly distributed in Europe include the common dace ''Le ...
'' by having a keel which runs from its nape to the origin of the
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
, a projecting snout which has a rounded tip and a projecting upper jaw, the dorsal profile of head and body shows a distinct hump; the snout is 32-35% of the length of the head; and the
lateral line has around 47-52 scales.
It also has thick, fleshy lips and a large eye, the diameter of them being approximately a fifth to a quarter of the length of the head. It grows to 280mm in
standard length.
Distribution
The Bearn beaked dave occurs only in the drainage basin of the
Adour in south-western France
[
]
Habitat and ecology
The Bearn beaked dace is found in streams, especially in sections of the streams which have clear water and current with cool, deep pools.[
]
See also
* Beaked dace
*Long-snout dace
The long-snout dace (''Leuciscus oxyrrhis'') is a species of cyprinid fish, found in the Garonne drainage in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of ...
References
Leuciscus
Taxa named by Émile Blanchard
Fish described in 1866
{{Leuciscinae-stub