Bleak 2429636 214986075 2008-05-26T05:26:41Z SamatBot 7027852 robot Adding: [[hu:Szélhajtó küsz]] {{Taxobox | name = Bleak | image = AlburnusAlburnus1.JPG | image_width = 250px | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Actinopterygii]] | ordo = [[Cypriniformes]] | familia = [[Cyprinidae]] | genus = ''[[Alburnus]]'' | species = '''''A. alburnus''''' | binomial = ''Alburnus alburnus'' | binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)}} The '''bleak''' is a small [[pelagic]] fish of the [[Cyprinid]] [[family (biology)|family]]. ==Description== The body of the bleak is elongated and flat. The head is pointed and the relatively small mouth is turned upwards. The anal fin is long and has 18 to 23 fin rays. The [[lateral line]] is complete.The bleak has a shiny silvery colour the fins are pointed and colourless. The mouth is turned upward. The maximum length is approximately 25 cm. In Europe the species can easily be confused with many other species. In England young [[Carp bream| Bream]] and [[Silver Bream]] can be confused with young Bleak. The pointed upward turned mouth of the bleak is already distinctive at young stages. Young [[roach (fish)| Roach]] and [[Ruffe]] have a wider body and a short anal fin. ==Occurrence== The Bleak occurs in Western England. In Europe it occurs in Southern Sweden, France and eastward toward the Wolga Basin and North-Western Turkey. ==Ecology== It lives in great schools and feeds upon small [[mollusc]]s, insects that fall in the water, insect [[larva]]e, [[worm]]s, small [[shellfish]] and plant detritus. The bleak prefers open waters and is found in large numbers where there is an inflow of food from pumping stations or behind weirs. It is also found in streams and also in clear standing waters and can be very numerous in lakes. ===Spawning=== The bleak spawns near the shore in shallow waters. Some were found in deep water. The substrate is not important. ===Importance=== The Bleak is an important food source for predatory fish. It is more sensitive to pollution then other cyprinids, which might explain the decline in North-Western Europe. ==Particularities== The scales of the Bleak are used to make a silver pigment called the Essence Orientale and artificial pearls. [[Image:AlburnusAlburnusHead.JPG|left|450px|thumb| The shiny and pearly colors on the head of a Bleak in direct sunlight]] <br clear="all" /> [[Category:Cyprinidae]] {{Cypriniformes-stub}} ==References== * {{ITIS|ID=163663|taxon=Alburnus alburnus|year=2006|date=24 January}} * {{FishBase_species|genus=Alburnus|species=alburnus|year=2005|month=10}} *{{1911}} [[be:Укляя]] [[be-x-old:Укляя]] [[bg:Уклейка]] [[de:Ukelei]] [[et:Viidikas]] [[es:Alburnus alburnus]] [[fr:Ablette]] [[fy:Wever (fisk)]] [[it:Alburnus alburnus]] [[lt:Paprastoji aukšlė]] [[hu:Szélhajtó küsz]] [[nl:Alver]] [[no:Laue]] [[pl:Ukleja (ryba)]] [[ru:Уклейка]] [[sl:Zelenika]] [[sr:Кедер]] [[fi:Salakka]] [[sv:Löja]] [[tr:İnci balığı]]