# Rain bleak (*Leucaspius delineatus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/rain-bleak  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The rain bleak (Leucaspius delineatus) is a bony fish in the family Cyprinidae, subfamily Leuciscinae, order Cypriniformes. It is also called Sunbleak, Moderlieschen, Able de Heckel, Motherless minnow and European sun bleak, and its scientific name carries the authority (Heckel, 1843). The IUCN Red List global assessment places it in the Least Concern (LC) category, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 4 cm – 6 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Recorded prey and predators

 Recorded predators: Zander (*Sander lucioperca*), European eel (*Anguilla anguilla*), Northern pike (*Esox lucius*), Burbot (*Lota lota*), Rainbow trout (*Oncorhynchus mykiss*), European perch (*Perca fluviatilis*), Brown trout (*Salmo trutta*), Brook trout (*Salvelinus fontinalis*), Common carp (*Cyprinus carpio*), Tench (*Tinca tinca*). Each pair is recorded by at least two datasets compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/, CC0 1.0).

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 4 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them. Introduced: Belgium, France, Russia, United Kingdom. Invasive: United Kingdom. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Teleostei
- order: Cypriniformes
- family: Cyprinidae
- genus: Leucaspius
- species: *Leucaspius delineatus* (Heckel, 1843)

Synonyms: *Aspius ovsianka*, *Aspius owsianka*, *Cyprinus fischeri*, *Cyprinus pallasii*, *Cyprinus pallasii*, *Leucaspius abruptus*, *Leucaspius delineatus caucasicus*, *Leucaspius delineatus delineatus*, *Leucaspius delineatus dimorphus*, *Leucaspius delineatus dimorphus*, *Leucaspius delineatus var. dimorphus*, *Leucaspius relictus*, *Leuciscus pigmeus*, *Owsianka czernayi*, *Phoxinellus thracicus*, *Squalius delineatus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the rain bleak?

The rain bleak is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Cyprinidae and the subfamily Leuciscinae.

### What is the scientific name of the rain bleak?

Its scientific name is Leucaspius delineatus, in the genus Leucaspius.

### Who named the rain bleak and when?

The scientific name Leucaspius delineatus carries the authority (Heckel, 1843).

### Is the rain bleak endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is not a threatened category.

### What other names does the rain bleak have?

Other English names are Sunbleak, Moderlieschen, Able de Heckel, Motherless minnow and European sun bleak.

### Which order does the rain bleak belong to?

The rain bleak belongs to the order Cypriniformes, in the class Teleostei.

### Is the rain bleak an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the rain bleak as invasive in 1 country: United Kingdom. It lists it as introduced in 4 in all.

### What eats the rain bleak?

Animals recorded preying on the rain bleak include zander, european eel, northern pike and burbot. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

## Sources

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products](https://www.globalbioticinteractions.org/), CC0 1.0, 0.11. Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference.
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Rain bleak (Leucaspius delineatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rain-bleak