Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Northern pearl dace (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
Northern Pearl Dace
Margariscus nachtriebi
Leuciscidae · freshwater water fish
1 minute read · Species guide
About Northern Pearl Dace
The northern pearl dace (Margariscus nachtriebi) is a freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. It occurs in Atlantic, Hudson Bay, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins in the northern United States and Canada. Its preferred habitat is cool, clear headwater streams, bog drainage streams, ponds and small lakes, and in stained, peaty waters of beaver ponds, usually over sand or gravel.
Range
Where it lives
0%
32.5%of mapped records
Share of records by state
Habitat
Water and movement
- Water
- WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Classification
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Superclass
- Actinopterygii
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Leuciscidae
- Genus
- Margariscus
- Species
- Margariscus nachtriebi
- ITIS TSN
- 689434
- WoRMS AphiaID
- 1019286
- GBIF key
- 2360891
- Outside the US
- ITIS also files it in Canada.
Common questions about Northern Pearl Dace
What is the scientific name of Northern Pearl Dace?
The scientific name is Margariscus nachtriebi, in the family Leuciscidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Northern Pearl Dace live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Northern Pearl Dace been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 7 states, with the most records in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.
Closest relatives
Other Margariscus species
Same family
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