A dace is a small fish that can be one of many different species. The unmodified name is usually a reference to the

common dace 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 coa ...

(''Leuciscus leuciscus''). This, like most fish called "daces", belongs to the family

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 v ...

, mostly in subfamily

Leuciscinae Leuciscinae is a subfamily of the freshwater fish family Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows. Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnows. As the name suggests, most members of the ...

. Daces in the Cyprinidae: * Common dace, ''

Leuciscus leuciscus 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 ...

'' * Chinese mud carp, ''

Cirrhinus chinensis ''Cirrhinus molitorella'' (mud carp or dace) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Cirrhinus'' found mainly in southern China and Vietnam. History The mud carp is a native Asian freshwater fish with a broad distribution from the Mekon ...

'' (called "dace" in Hong Kong) or mud carp (''Cirrhinus molitorella'') * Columbia River dace, '' Ptychocheilus oregonensis'' (a pikeminnow) * Desert dace, ''

Eremichthys acros The desert dace (''Eremichthys acros'') is a rare cyprinid fish known only from the warm springs and creeks of Soldier Meadow in western Humboldt County, Nevada, USA. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Eremichthys''. The species is ...

'' (a monotypic genus) * European daces, genus '' Leuciscus'' * Fallfish, '' Semotilus corporalis'' (a creek chub called "dace" in Canada) * Horned dace, ''

Semotilus atromaculatus ''Semotilus atromaculatus'', known as the creek chub or the common creek chub, is a small minnow, a freshwater fish found in the eastern US and Canada. Differing in size and color depending on origin of development, the creek chub can usually be ...

'' (a creek chub) * Japanese dace '' Tribolodon hakonensis'', genus '' Tribolodon'' * Korean splendid dace, ''

Coreoleuciscus splendidus ''Coreoleuciscus splendidus'', also known as the swiri or Korean splendid dace, is a species of fish from the cyprinid family endemic to rivers of the Korean peninsula. It was first scientifically described by Tamezo Mori in 1935, who noted in 1 ...

'' (a monotypic genus) * Lake Candidus dace, ''

Candidia barbatus ''Candidia'' is a genus of small cyprinid freshwater fish endemic to Taiwan. Species There are currently two recognized species in this genus. * ''Candidia barbata'' (Regan, 1908) * ''Candidia pingtungensis ''Candidia'' is a genus of small c ...

'' (a monotypic genus) * Mexican daces, genus ''

Evarra ''Evarra'' was a genus of small ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. All species in the genus were restricted to waters in the Valley of Mexico and are now extinct due to habitat loss (their habitat dried out with remaining waters in the re ...

'' * Moapa dace, ''

Moapa coriacea The moapa dace (''Moapa coriacea'') is a rare cyprinid fish of southern Nevada, United States, found only in the upper parts of the Muddy (formerly Moapa) River, and in the warm springs that give rise to the river. It is the only species of the ...

'' (a monotypic genus) * Northwest dace, '' Mylocheilus caurinus'' (a peamouth) * Allegheny pearl dace, '' Margariscus margarita'' * Northern pearl dace, '' Margariscus nachtriebi'' * Ponto-Caspian daces, genus ''

Petroleuciscus ''Petroleuciscus'' is a genus of four species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It was usually included in ''Leuciscus'' until recently. This genus unites the Ponto-Caspian chubs and daces. Recent research has indicated that ''Petroleu ...

'' * Redbelly daces, genus '' Phoxinus'' * Redside daces, genus ''

Clinostomus ''Clinostomus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish that occur in eastern North America. There are two species in this genus. Species * ''Clinostomus elongatus'' ( Kirtland, 1840) (Redside dace) * ''Clinostomus funduloides The rosyside dace (''Clinost ...

'', e.g. ** Redside dace ''Clinostomus elongatus'' ** Rosyside dace '' Clinostomus funduloides'' * Relict dace, '' Relictus solitarius'' (a monotypic genus) * Riffle daces, genus ''

Rhinichthys ''Rhinichthys'', known as the riffle daces, is a genus of freshwater fish in the carp family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. The type species is '' Rhinichthys atratulus'', the blacknose dace. ''Rhinichthys'' species range throughout No ...

'' (including ''Tiaroga'') * Saskatchewan dace, '' Platygobio gracilis'' (a

flathead chub The flathead chub (''Platygobio gracilis'') is a species of fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Platygobio''.Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Eds. (2011)''Platygobio''.FishBase. It is native to North Americ ...

) * Shining dace, '' Semotilus corporalis'' (a creek chub) * Spikedace, '' Meda fulgida'' (a monotypic genus) * Spinedaces, genus ''

Lepidomeda ''Lepidomeda'' is a genus of cyprinid fish, commonly known as the spinedaces, found in western North America. Of the four known species, one is extinct and two are threatened. They appear to be fairly close to the leatherside chub and the spike ...

'' Daces not in Cyprinidae * Sea dace, the

European seabass The European bass (''Dicentrarchus labrax'') is a primarily ocean-going fish native to the waters off Europe's western and southern and Africa's northern coasts, though it can also be found in shallow coastal waters and river mouths during the su ...

(''Dicentrarchus labrax'') of the Moronidae

Popular Culture

Dace are referenced in chapter three of George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'': "Somewhere near at hand, though out of sight, there was a clear, slow-moving stream where dace were swimming in the pools under the willow trees." The dace fish has also made an appearance in the

Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In ''Animal Crossing'', the player character is a human who lives in a village inh ...

franchise, as well as

Oregon Trail Settler Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...

Popular Culture

See also