| Beautiful shiner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| juvenile | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Cyprinella |
| Species: | C. formosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Cyprinella formosa (Girard, 1856) | |
| Synonyms | |
The beautiful shiner (Cyprinella formosa) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. It is one of 22 species of Cyprinella found in North America.
The beautiful shiner is one of the smaller species of Arizona native fish, reaching lengths of only 3.5 inches. They have pointed snouts with compressed heads and bodies, giving them a very slender appearance. Their lateral lines are slightly curved with 30 to 40 small scales. Shiners also have a lower number of fin rays, which can distinguish them from longfin daces or suckers. The dorsal and pelvic fins have only eight fin rays, with anal fin rays ranging from eight to 9. Shiners have pharyngeal teeth than line up in single lines inside their mouths, which also make them easily distinguishable. Coloration patterns include either orange or bright red bodies, with silvery gray lateral lines along their scales. Melanophores line the dorsal portions, giving them the opportunity to change colors while mating. During mating, the males will turn their caudal fins yellow or orange, for certain unknown sexually selective reasons. Males can sometimes have either bluish or red heads. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
These shiners are typically found in the waters of Cochise County and San Bernardino Creek. They were extirpated from the United States for a brief period during 1969-70, but they have recently been reintroduced to Arizona and other regions of the Southwest. The San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge has been working for the recovery of this threatened species by reintroducing it into various ponds around Cochise County. After the reintroduction in 1990, the beautiful shiner has made its way from Cochise County to Southern parts of Sonora and Mexico, traveling to the Santa Maria and Santa Clara drainages to spawn. This species can also be found Rio Yaqui and Mimbres Rivers. They have a stricter range in elevation, being found only in rivers between 2600 and 5600 feet, and they are restricted to Riparian biotic communities.
Their more preferred habitats are sandy, rocky-bottomed streams of smaller sizes. Attempts have been made to reintroduce the species into man-made ponds; some successful recoveries of populations have been noted and some unsuccessful. The largest populations have been found in smaller riffles in the Yaqui River, as well as smaller tributaries within Cochise County. Smaller eddies and riffles are preferred, because of the greater number of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates can be found for feeding. Although this species eats primarily invertebrates, it is considered omnivorous, as it also feeds on detritus.
The knowledge about the reproduction patterns of this species is limited. Federal law protects members of the endangered or threatened species, making it difficult to legally catch or study them. They will spread their eggs over aquatic vegetation or brush in attempt to hide them from predators. They also prefer warmer waters during copulation, mating only between the months of May and July.
Beautiful shiners live in highly volatile environments. Their predators include garter snakes, bullfrogs, and other non-native fish, resulting in extra energy spent hiding their eggs during spawning. The introduction of non-native green sunfish and bullfrogs has contributed largely to a decline in fitness, because these other animals are outcompeting this species for habitat. Arizona placed the beautiful shiner on the endangered species list in 1988, and little has been done to recover their numbers. Aquifer pumping, reduction in stream flows, and predation by non-native green sunfish, are all major contributing factors to the decline of the species according to Nature Serve (2002). The San Bernardino Ranch has current plans to populate the area, and other projects involve federal habitat preservation. The Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center has had the most success, because they have developed an effective method for reintroducing the species, and providing the criteria for spawning.
The loach minnow is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the carp family of order Cypriniformes. It occurs in streams and small rivers throughout the Gila River and San Pedro River systems in Arizona, New Mexico, and Sonora; it is now considered extinct in Mexico.
The woundfin is a species of minnow endemic to the Virgin River of the southwestern United States. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Plagopterus.
The rosyface shiner is a small fresh water fish of the minnow and carp family (Cyprinidae). It is native to eastern North America.
The Colorado pikeminnow is the largest cyprinid fish of North America and one of the largest in the world, with reports of individuals up to 6 ft (1.8 m) long and weighing over 100 pounds (45 kg). Native to the Colorado River Basin of the southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico, it was formerly an important food fish for both Native Americans and European settlers. Once abundant and widespread in the basin, its numbers have declined to the point where it has been extirpated from the Mexican part of its range and was listed as endangered in the US part in 1967, a fate shared by the three other large Colorado Basin endemic fish species: bonytail chub, humpback chub, and razorback sucker. The Colorado pikeminnow is currently listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, while its NatureServe conservation status is "critically imperiled".
The Yaqui sucker is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae. It is found the Aridoamerica region of northern Mexico and south-western United States. Catostomus bernardini or Yaqui sucker belongs to the family Catostomidae. The Yaqui sucker is related to the Sonora sucker and could possibly be a subspecies of the Gila sucker.
The Sonora chub is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States.
The Yaqui chub is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in northern Mexico and the United States. The Yaqui chub is a medium-sized minnow fish that historically occurred in streams of Rios Matape, Sonora, and the Yaqui systems of Sonora, Mexico. It is one of the five species of the genus Gila in Arizona. The Yaqui chub is closely related to G. ditaenia, and G. orcutti ; and shares several physical characteristics with the G. orcutti, but proves different by having a black wedge near the base of the caudal fin.
The Bayou darter is a rare species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to western Mississippi in the United States, where it is found only in Bayou Pierre and its tributaries. Its typical habitat is fast-flowing creeks and streams, in riffles and in areas between riffles with firm gravel bottoms. It feeds on small insects and their larvae. Breeding probably takes place twice a year, in spring and late summer. The population of this fish is declining due to loss of suitable habitat. This is caused by siltation and pollution, particularly erosion caused by changes in land use. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "endangered".
Ictalurus pricei, the Yaqui catfish, is a species of North American freshwater catfish native to Mexico and Arizona.
The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge is located on the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County, Arizona. Situated at 3,720 to 3,920 feet (1,130–1,190 m) elevation in the bottom of a wide valley, the refuge encompasses a portion of the headwaters of the Yaqui River, which drains primarily western Chihuahua and eastern Sonora, Mexico. The 2,309-acre (9.34 km2) ranch was acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1982 to protect the water resources and provide habitat for endangered native fishes.
The Yaqui longfin dace is a small fish of the American Southwest and northern Mexico, and considered a form of the longfin dace. It is often referred to as Agosia chrysogaster sp 1.
The Mexican stoneroller is a species of fish native to Arizona and Texas in the United States and parts of adjacent Mexico. It belongs to the carp family, Cyprinidae. There are three other species in this genus, Campostoma anomalum, Campostoma oligolepis, and Campostoma pauciradii, which are morphologically similar.
The Yaqui topminnow is a species of fish in the family Poeciliidae. Its scientific name is Poeciliopsis sonoriensis; it is also sometimes considered a subspecies of Poeciliopsis occidentalis as P. o. sonoriensis. This fish is native to Mexico and the United States, with a few native and introduced populations persisting in Arizona in the United States, and a number of populations still extant in northern Sonora, Mexico.
The spotfin shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is a small sized fresh water fish found abundantly in many watercourse of North America.
The rainbow shiner is a North American species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis.
The red shiner or red-horse minnow is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, and can grow to about three inches in length. For most of the year, both males and females have silver sides and whitish abdomens. Males in breeding coloration, though, have iridescent pink-purple-blue sides and a red crown and fins.
The blacktail shiner is a small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to the United States.
The holiday darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the southeast US water system, with disjunctive populations throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. It is also located in the Coosa River / Choccolocco Creek watershed which begins in Tennessee and far west Georgia, then enters Alabama. Its diet, close to other members of the subgenus Ulocentra, consists of small insects, including midges, black fly larvae, and small crustaceans. The two subspecies inhabit small to medium-sized gradient-rich streams. They are often found in fast-moving streams with large boulders, gravel, cobbles, and sand. They can be found in the margins between these large boulders, and use the boulders for protection from predators and for the females to attach eggs. The holiday darter has very vibrant coloration, but will display even more brilliant coloration during or before spawning. Spawning takes place during the spring, usually around April or May. This species is state listed in Georgia as threatened. One of the disjunct populations is located in the Talladega National Forest, which results in it being protected from human encroachment. The separate populations can make it difficult to determine the exact population count.
Spotfin chub is a ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae that is endemic to the Tennessee River watershed. Its other common names include turquoise shiner and chromium shiner.
