E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

This species has the snout free from the upper lip. Mouth horizontal, with well developed barbels at the corners of the jaw, narrow caudal peduncle (usually more than 3 times into head length); dorsal and anal fins are falcate; upper lobe of the daudal fin more pointed than in the longnose dace; usually 9 or 10 dorsal rays, 51-63 scales along the lateral line, dark irregular spots covering the back and sides. For further detailed information, refer to McPhail (2008).

The leopard dace is a Columbia endemic. It is abundant in gravel deposition reaches along the Fraser River. Curiously, with the exception of the lower Similkameen River, it is not common in the Columbia system. Its rarity in most of the Columbia system may be natural or may be a result of human intervention (dams). Although its general ecology is modestly well known, its reproductive biology is unknown. It is one of the species involved in the evolution, through an ancient hybridization event, of the Umatilla dace. The genetic relationships between leopard and Umatilla dace need more study — based on mitochondrial analyses, some populations group with Umatilla dace rather than with their own species. This may reflect past hybridization.

North America: Fraser and Columbia River drainages in British Columbia in Canada, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, USA.