Virgin Spinedace

This spinedace is overall silvery in color, with a brassy sheen and a pattern of sooty blotches or speckles on each side. The dorsal fin has eight rays, the first two of which are spiny, the second being longer than the one closer to the frontal area. The anal fin has eight to 10 rays, usually 9. The breeding male is more brightly colored, developing a band on the anal fin, orange to red shades on the paired fins, and a spot of red or gold color at the top of the gill slit. The Virgin spinedace adult is generally 6 to 12 centimetres (2.4 to 4.7 in) in total length. The mouth is less oblique than that of L. vittata. The dorsal fin is lower and rounded, and its depressed length is 5.6 to 6.1 centimetres (2.2 to 2.4 in). The Virgin Spinedace is omnivorous, with a diet of primarily aquatic insects, of note the larvae of Euparyphus and Hydropsyche.

The Virgin spinedace habitat is clear water about 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) deep, preferably close to cover, such as overhanging shrubs or banks, near vegetation, and over sand or gravel. The fish prefers slow water in areas that do not experience heavy flooding. The fish can tolerate water temperatures of 29 °C (84 °F) or higher, a useful ability in the summer when the river becomes intermittent and the fish must crowd into isolated pools. They prefer clear, cool, relatively swift streams with scattered pools, and often will use shear zones between low and high current velocities.