White bleak

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White bleak
Systematics
without rank: Otophysa
Order : Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination : Carp fish-like (Cyprinoidei)
Family : White fish (Leuciscidae)
Genre : Alburnus
Type : White bleak
Scientific name
Alburnus albidus
( OG Costa , 1838)

The white bleak or Mediterranean bleak ( Alburnus albidus ) is a fish that is mainly found in the Mediterranean region (especially on both sides of the Adriatic ). It is the sister species of bleak ( A. alburnus ), which is widespread in Europe north of the Alps.

Appearance

The white bleak grows up to 17 (maximum 20) cm long and 80 g in weight. The body is slender and elongated and flattened on the sides. The mouth is above and inclined upwards. The fish is called "white bleak" because its belly, which is silver-colored in Central European bleak, looks much lighter silver, shiny to actually white. Its back is colored blue-green to light gray.

distribution and habitat

The white bleak lives mainly in the waters of the Adriatic . In southern Italy, the nominate form A. a. albidus , in the north of Italy and Dalmatia the Alborella ( A. a. alborella ) is widespread.

The fish lives in schools, especially in the open water area of ​​stagnant and slowly flowing waters. It very often stays in the area of ​​the water surface, where it feeds on plankton and approach food.

Reproduction

The spawning is mostly done in the gravel bottom of the waters in June to August, with the females laying the eggs mostly at night in larger clusters. The fry hatch after two to three days, and the fish become sexually mature in their second or third year of life.

protection

The white bleak is listed by the European Union in Annex II of the Habitats Directive and is therefore a type of community interest, for whose preservation special protected areas must be designated by the member states.

literature

  • Andreas Vilcinskas: Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft München 2000. ISBN 3-405-15848-6

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