The common dace (''Leuciscus leuciscus'') is a species of freshwater and brackish water

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Cyprinidae 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 ve ...

which is native to Europe but which has been introduced to other parts of the world. It is a quarry species for coarse anglers.

Description

The common dace differs from other members in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' 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. 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 Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...

has a concave margin and the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

is forked. 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 ...

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 Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of .

Distribution

The common dace is native to Europe and northern Asia where its occurs in the basins of the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

and

Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian terr ...

. It also occurs in the basin of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...

in the drainage systems of the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catch ...

and

Ural River The Ural (russian: Урал, ), known before 1775 as Yaik (russian: Яик, ba, Яйыҡ, translit=Yayıq, ; kk, Жайық, translit=Jaiyq, ), is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan in the continental border between Europe and Asia ...

s and in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

basin it is found in the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

. 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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

since the early 1900s, having been taken there as a bait fish to catch larger fish such as pike. 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.

Habitat and biology

The common dace is found in rivers and streams, sometime occurring in lakes or in the brackish water at the mouths of rivers. 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.

Angling

The common dace is fished for by coarse anglers and the British rod caught record is . In some parts of Europe it is eaten but it is not highly regarded as a food fish. It is used as bait by anglers and that is thought to be the mechanism by which it was introduced to and spread in Ireland.

References

External links