Soulfie (leuciscus Souffia) And Dace (leuciscus Leuciscus)
The souffle is a small fish with a long cylindrical body and an inferior-positioned mouth. A dark wide stripe extends along the whole length of its sides from the mouth to the caudal peduncle, the scales of its lateral line are orange. It is a schooling fish in rivers of the grayling zone and some lakes. It spawns in places with a stony bed and a fresh current of water. During the spawning season both sexes develop white tubercles on head and body. It feeds on small water invertebrates and insects which have fallen into the water. It lives in the watershed of the rivers RhOne and Po (Leuciscus son(jia sonffia), whilst a subspecies, Leuciscus souffle agassizi, inhabits the tributaries of the upper Rhine and the Danube and rivers associated with the watershed of the Tisza.
The dace is a small yet slender member of the carp family, whose body is almost circular in cross-section. It has a dark back with a blue sheen and silvery sides. It can be distinguished from the very similar chub by its small mouth and concave edge to the anal fin. It lives in clear waters of submountainous and lowland rivers and streams and feeds on insects and their larvae, which it collects from the river bed as well as from the surface. From March to May it spawns on aquatic vegetation. It is found in the whole of Europe with the exception of all three south European peninsulas (i. e. Spain, Italy and Greece), Scotland and the northern parts of Scandinavia.
Leuciscus soujia
Maximum size and weight:
20 cm, 100 g.
Identifying characteristics Wick dark stripe along the sides from mouth to caudal peduncle. Lateral lint scales orange. Mouth in inferior position.
Leuciscus leuciscus
Maximum size and weight:
35 cm, 250 g.
Identifying characteristics : Mouth small, anal fin edge concave. Lower part of body, behind ventral fins, rounded and covered with scales.
