Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Genus and species:	Leuciscus leuciscus

William Yarrell (1836) in "A History of British Fishes":

THE DACE, DARE, OR DART.

Leuciscus	vulgaris,	Cuvier, Règne An. t. ii. p. 275.
"	"	Dace,	Flem. Brit. An. p. 187, sp. 63.
Cyprinus	leuciscus,	Linnæus. Bloch, pt. iii. pl. 97.
"	"	Dace,	Penn. Brit. Zool. vol. iii. p. 483.
"	"	"	Don. Brit. Fish. pl. 77.

THE DACE and the Roach are somewhat allied in their habits, and a little so in their appearance ; but the former is not so plentiful as the latter, nor is it so generally dispersed, being comparatively more local. The Dace inhabits Italy, France and Germany, and in this country is found in the deep and clear water of quiet streams. Its food is worms and other soft substances ; but, like the Trout, it will occasionally rise at an artificial fly, and it is frequently taken by fly-fishers while whipping for that fish. The Dace is gregarious, swimming in shoals, and spawning in June. The flesh is considered preferable to that of the Roach, but is not generally in much estimation : it seldom exceeds nine or ten inches in length. The Dace is frequently used as bait for Pike in trolling, on account of its silvery brightness ; but where live bait are required, as for night hooks, Roach are preferable, on account of their being more tenacious of life.
The length of the head, compared with the length of the head and body, without the caudal rays, is as two to nine ; the depth of the body compared to the whole length, as one to five ; the muzzle pointed ; the mouth rather large, being more deeply cut than in a Roach of the same size ; the nostrils very similar ; the eye not so large, the diameter of it compared with the length of the head being as two to seven ; the back but slightly elevated ; the form of the body elongated and elegantly shaped ; the scales considerably smaller than those of the Roach when the two fishes are of the same size ; the number of scales composing the lateral line fifty-two, on an oblique line above it eight, and descending from the line to the origin of the ventral fin four.
The dorsal fin commences rather farther back than in the Roach, the first ray being behind the middle of the body ; the ventral fins rather in advance of the line of the commencement of the dorsal fin : in other respects the fins in these two species are very similar. The rays in number are -

D. 9 : P. 16 : V. 9 . A. 10 : C. 19.

The colour of the upper part of the head and back dusky blue, becoming paler on the sides and white on the belly; the irides straw yellow ; cheek and gill-covers silvery white; dorsal and caudal fins pale brown ; pectoral, ventral, and anal fins almost white, tinged with pale red.

Frank Buckland (1880) in "Natural History of British Fishes":

DACE.

(Leuciscus vulgaris)

Local names: Dace, Dare, Dart. French: Vaudoise, or Dard. German: Der Hasling, or Die Hasel.

DEPTH of body, about the same as length of head; back fin commencing half-way between point of nose and end of fleshy portion of tail ; tail fin small, and a good deal forked ; scales smaller than those of the chub, fifty on lateral line. The date has the vivacity of the bleak and the swagger of the chub, therefore it requires some little attention to catch him. He is in full season from October to January. Unfortunately for himself, he has such bright scales that he makes a splendid live bait for pike.
Considerable discussion has lately taken place in angling circles as to the use of live bait in angling for pike. In India, when they set a trap for a tiger, it is stated that they tie up a kid, and to make him cry they put a stone in his ear.
A gentleman who was a great hand at crocodile catching with the hook, told me the best bait was a sucking pig, and to attract the attention of the crocodile the angler walked along the bank pinching the sucking pig to make him squeak. Both the pig and the goat when used for bait exhibit considerable fear. The poor dace used as a live bait is probably also in trepidation, if he knows the purpose for which he is made captive with hook run through his back. His Grace the Duke of Wellington, a great angler, has therefore invented an ingenious apparatus by which the bait is held secure to the hook by means of india rubber bands.
At certain times of the year the dace assemble in vast numbers at the lower side of the Thames Navigation Weir. The fish are then certainly heading up to spawn. Passes should be made for them to ascend, and I hope shortly to suggest a plan for fish passes, either through or round all the weirs on the Thames which are found to obstruct the fish.

Alwyne Wheeler (1969) in "The Fishes of the British Isles and North West Europe":

Dace

Leuciscus (Leuciscus) leuciscus (Linnaeus, 1758)

NAME Fr. Vandoise; Du. Serpeling; Ge. Hasel; Da. Strømskalle; Sw. Stäm.

IDENTIFICATION Slim bodied, with a relatively small, rather pointed head. (The profile varies with locality and has, in France at least, been considered to be of subspecific value.) The mouth is small, inferior, and the angle of the jaw does not reach the eye-level. The dorsal fin usually has seven rays; its origin is above the base of the pelvic fins, its free edge concave; the edge of the anal fin is concave. It grows to an average length of around 10 in (25 cm), some specimen fish reaching 12 in (30 cm). The British record fish (1932) weighed 1½ lb (0.68 kg).
The dace is bluish green dorsally, the sides and belly silvery to yellowish white. The dorsal, anal and tail fins are greyish, the pectorals and pelvics pale yellow, sometimes with a red flush. A living dace gives the impression of being a bright silvery fish.
D. III/7; A. III/8; lateral line scales 48-51; transverse scale rows 7-8/3-4; pharyngeal teeth in two rows 5 + 2 each side, exceptionally 5 + 3 (Fig. 69).

BIOLOGY The dace is typically a fish of clear, fairly fast-running streams and rivers, but is occasionally found in lakes and lowland rivers. It is gregarious and usually found in large shoals near the surface. It spawns from February to May, often earlier in southern, warmer, localities than in the north. Severe cold winter or spring will delay spawning into May. In the breeding season the males have small, white tubercles all over the head and body. Spawning takes place in gravelly shallows, usually at night and after a short upstream migration. The females arrive at the spawning site and stay in its vicinity until spent; the males mostly move upstream in the evening and return to deep water after dawn. The largest fish spawn earliest in the season, the most recently matured last, sometimes a month later. The eggs are pale orange and measure 1.5 mm in diameter; they hatch in twenty-five days at a temperature of 13°C (55°F). The alevins measure 7.5 mm at hatching. Growth is rapid in the first two years; at the end of their second year they average 6 in (15 cm), at the theed 7 in (18 cm), at their fourth 7¾ in (20 cm), and in their sixth year 8¾ in (22 cm). Males grow rather faster than females. A minority of fish of both sexes, usually those spawned early in the season, mature in the first year, the remainder in their second year.
Dace eat a considerable amount of algae and higher plants; fish under 4 in (10 cm) also eat diatoms in quantities. Amongst animal foods the most important are insects, principally Trichoptera larvae, and the larvae and adults of chironomids and Simulium; terrestial insects and flying aquatic insects are eaten in quantity in summer. Molluscs, leeches and crustacea (mainly gammarids and Asellus) are eaten, particularly in winter.
Dace have considerable value as angling fish, for although small they fight well on light tackle. Their consistent capture is a demonstration of angling finesse, for their bite is light and swift and they are easily frightened. They are too small and bony to have any food value, but make a good bait for larger fish. Their presence in numbers in salmon streams is probably a disadvantage as they compete with the parr for food, though to what degree has not been clearly determined.

DISTRIBUTION

Also in northern Spain. L. l. burdigalensis Valenciennes, 1844, in southern French rivers.