Longnose dace

Longnose Dace
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Leuciscinae
Clade: Pogonichthyinae
Genus: Rhinichthys
Species:
R. cataractae
Binomial name
Rhinichthys cataractae
(Valenciennes, 1842)
Subspecies
Synonyms
  • Gobio cataractae Valenciennes, 1842
  • Rhinichthys marmoratus Agassiz, 1850
Fish caught in the Thunder Bay District, Ontario.

The longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) is a freshwater minnow native to North America. Rhinicthys means snout fish (reference to the long snout) and cataractae means of the cataract (first taken from Niagara Falls). Longnose dace are small, typically less than 100 mm and characterized by their fleshy snout that protrudes past the mouth. They are well adapted for living on the bottom of fast-flowing streams among stones. Longnose dace eat algae and aquatic insects and are important forage minnows for larger predatory fish.

  1. ^ NatureServe.; Lyons, T.J. (2019). "Rhinichthys cataractae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T62204A130050777. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T62204A130050777.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.