Danube roach

Description

The pigo is a robust cyprinid of the family Cyprinidae (Leuciscidae) reaching about 45 cm. It resembles a stout roach, with a deep, silvery-grey body and a forked tail. The species is endemic to the fresh water of northern Italy, especially the Po plain, and adjacent Adriatic drainages, where it lives in schools in slow to moderately flowing rivers, canals and lakes. As an omnivore it eats molluscs, insect larvae, crustaceans and plant material. In the breeding season the male develops a coarse, white spawning tubercle rash on the head and flank. Through water pollution, habitat loss and competition with introduced exotics the pigo has declined locally, though globally it is assessed as Least Concern (LC).