Danilevskii'S Dace

Diagnosed from congeners in Europe by the following characters: subinferior or subterminal mouth; subequal jaws, upper jaw slightly longer; upper lip tip about level with center of eye; snout not projecting; lower jaw articulation in front of or below anterior margin of eye; horizontal branch of preoperculum as long as or slightly longer than vertical branch; and lateral line with 35-41 + 2-4 scales (Ref. 59043).

Sticky and slightly transparent eggs, 2.0 mm in diamater, hatch in 9 days at 13°C (Ref. 59043).

Prefers to live in main course of rivers with clear water, moderate to slow current, sand or sand-clay bottom. Commonly stays on bottom at 0.3-3 m deep. Avoids turbid and still waters. Occurs in small groups of individuals of similar size. Feeds mainly on insects and their larvae, molluscs, also on other benthic invertebrates and algae. Breeds in stretches with heavy current and stone bottom. Eggs are sticky and slightly transparent. Larvae which don't possess adhesive glands lie passively on bottom (Ref. 59043).

Leuciscus danilewskii, referred to as the Danilevskii's dace or Don dace, is a species of freshwater fish of the cyprinid family, inhabiting the Don River basin in Ukraine and Russia. It is similar to the common dace (Leuciscus leuciscus), and thought to replace it in the Don basin.