| Longnose shiner | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
| Clade: | Pogonichthyinae |
| Genus: | Notropis |
| Species: | N. longirostris |
| Binomial name | |
| Notropis longirostris (O. P. Hay, 1881) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The longnose shiner (Notropis longirostris) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis .
Longnose shiners are elongate, straw-colored shiners with a long, bunt snout, broadly rounded head, and a large subterminal, nearly horizontal mouth. The predorsal profile is moderately arched relative to the flatter, ventral profile. Both dorsal and ventral aspects taper abruptly from the level of the dorsal origin, posteriorly. They have small eyes situated high on the head, giving the impression of an upward-looking fish when viewed from above. Their teeth are usually 1,4-4,1 and are hooked and have prominent grinding surfaces. The tooth in the anterior row, when present, is often weak and easily broken. [2] The dorsal and anal fins are moderately high, about equally elevated, and slightly rounded at the tips. The margin of the dorsal fin is mostly straight, and the anal fin in emarginate. In both fins, the anterior rays are somewhat longer than the posterior rays when depressed. The dorsal fin has 8 (7-8) rays and its origin is slightly anterior to the pelvic fin, which has 8 (7-8) rays. The pectoral fins have 14-15 (13-17) rays and the anal fins have 7 (6-8) rays. The breast is unscaled and the belly is scaled to partially scaled. The lateral line is complete and mostly straight, with a slight decurve. They are usually no more than 58 mm in length. Mature males average 34.9 mm in length while females average 33.8 mm.
The back and sides above the lateral line are pale yellow, with a dusky cross-hatched pattern and a thin, but noticeable, middorsal stripe. The lower sides and ventral side is typically silvery or silvery white. Though usually obscure or absent, some fish may have a faint lateral stripe, especially on the caudal peduncle; pigment of the lateral stipe is confined to the areas above the lateral-line. There is no concentration of melanophores at the base of the caudal fin and all fins lack dark pigment. The fins of breeding individuals, particularly males, have a bright lemon yellow pigment. Males may also have yellow snouts. [3]
Longnose shiners generally feed during the day, with peak activity in the morning. They primarily feed of dipteran larvae and other aquatic insects. Small crustaceans, such as copepods, clasocerans, and ostracods are also a part of their diet. The only terrestrial insect they eat are ants. Longnose shiners also eat various plant materials, such as seeds of various sedges, diatoms, desmids, filamentous algae, and aquatic fungi. With increasing size, longnose shiners can have a more diverse diet, and have been found include mayfly larvae in their diets. [4] [5]
The longnose shiner is a benthic, schooling species found most often in moderate current over clean sand or small gravel substrata in medium to large streams. Their habitats are often described as shallow (depths to ca. 60 cm), clean, white, open, sand areas along the edges of sand bars in low to moderate flow. [4] Though they are most abundant near the lower end of sand bars and shoal, where there is a reduced current flow, they are also commonly found in areas where stream banks are covered with woody or brushy vegetation. Longnose shiners have also been found to colonize disturbed areas around bridge repair sites where the operation of heavy machinery has created a shallow, sand-bottom stream channel. [3] [2]
The sex ratio of longnose shiners is about 1:1, and both sexes mature at about the same size (30 mm) The average size of males are about 34.9 millimetres (1.37 in) long and females are about 33.8 millimetres (1.33 in) long. The average size of females tends to vary in different drainage systems. Larger females usually produce larger ova, with mature ova diameters averaging from 0.84 to 0.95 mm. Variances in female size and average diameters of mature ova seem to be strongly correlated with the amount of surface runoff in the area. [6] [7]
The breading season of longnose shiners typically lasts from March until October, in waters of about 17–29 °C (63–84 °F). Longnose shiners generally produce multiple clutches during a breeding season. There may be two breeding peaks, one at the very beginning of the season and then another in the middle of the season, around July. [7] Females average from 62 to 121 mature ova per clutch and usually produce anywhere from 15 to 129 eggs. Longnose shiners do not prepare the substrate for a spawning event, and instead practice broadcast spawning, in which they scatter the eggs and sperm. This type of reproduction results in a lack of parental care to both egg and larvae. [3]
In the wild, longnose shiners are expected to live between 1 and 2.5 years in the wild. While some fish can survive up to their third summer, most do not survive to their third winter. [3]
Longnose shiners are widely distributed throughout the southeastern coastal states of the United States. Their range extends from just west of the Mississippi River in Louisiana to Florida. In Louisiana, they are common and widespread throughout the Florida parishes and northward into the lower Ouachita River drainage system in Catahoula Parish. [2] In Mississippi, they are found in the lower part of the Yazoo River drainage system. [3] They are also found to the upper Altamaha River drainage system and the Ocmulgee River system in Georgia. Isolated populations can also be found in the upper Coosa River system and several smaller tributaries in the Alabama River drainage system. [8]
Longnose shiners are too small to be a game fish or to be used as food, but they are often used as bait by anglers who make use of their silver shiny color to attract bigger fish.[ citation needed ]
The genus name, Notropis, is misnomer given by Rafinesque to shriveled specimens, with the meaning of "back keel"; from the Greek word, noton, meaning back. The species name, longirostris, comes from the Latin word longus, meaning long, and the Latin word rostrum, meaning snout, referring to the long snout on this species. [9]
The longnose dace is a freshwater minnow native to North America. Rhinicthys means snout fish and cataractae means of the cataract. Longnose dace are small, typically less than 100 mm and characterized by their fleshy snout that protrudes past the mouth. They are well adapted for living on the bottom of fast-flowing streams among stones. Longnose dace eat algae and aquatic insects and are important forage minnows for larger predatory fish.
The emerald shiner is one of hundreds of small, silvery, slender fish species known as shiners. The identifying characteristic of the emerald shiner is the silvery emerald color on its sides. It can grow to 3.5 inches in length and is found across North America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, commonly in large, deep lakes and rivers, though sometimes in smaller bodies of water as well. It feeds on small organisms such as zooplankton and insects, congregating in large groups near the surface of the water. It is a quite common fish and is often used as a bait fish.
The bridle shiner is a member of the minnow family (Cyprinidae). This species has been identified as being of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
The swallowtail shiner is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It has a slender and long body of about 40–55 millimetres (1.6–2.2 in). The shiner has a pale yellow back with a blue stripe on its silver side. It also has a silvery white belly. Its fins are yellowish and it has a dorsal fin originating above the back half of the pelvic fin base and a tail fin with a black spot at its base. When viewed from above, two pigmented stripes are visible near the dorsal fin: one predorsally and the postdorsally. Its snout is either slightly pointed or slightly rounded. The swallowtail shiner lives in warm creeks and in river pools.
The sand shiner is a widespread North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. Sand shiners live in open clear water streams with sandy bottoms where they feed in schools on aquatic and terrestrial insects, bottom ooze and diatoms.
The spotfin shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is a small sized freshwater fish found abundantly in many watercourses of North America.
The pugnose shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis. It is in the family Cyprinidae which consists of freshwater carps and minnows. Cyprinidae is the largest fish family which consists of about 369 genera and 3,018 species. Its distribution has been decreasing due to the removal of aquatic plants in order to create swimming beaches and boating access in freshwater lakes and is now mostly found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
The redlip shiner is a North American species of freshwater cyprinid fish. This shiner can be found in a few streams located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. It inhabits rocky pools of clear headwaters, creeks and small rivers. Adults range in length from 40 to 55 mm.
The blackchin shiner is an abundant North American species of freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae. Described by Edward Drinker Cope in 1865, it is not a well-known species. It is a close relative of the blacknose shiner. Chiefly occurring now in the Great Lakes and occasionally in upper Mississippi River drainages, the blackchin once ranged commonly as far south as Illinois and Ohio. This fish resides over sandy bottoms in cool waters that provide a lot of cover for the small minnow. Omnivorous, it eats worms and small arthropods as well as plant material. Blackchin shiners are unique because of their anatomical features, such as the black coloring, the incomplete lateral line, and a distinctive dental arrangement.
The spottail shiner or spottail minnow is a small- to medium-sized freshwater minnow. It can be found as far north as Canada and as far south as the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. These shiners live in lakes, rivers, and creeks. They occupy the rocky or sandy shorelines and bottoms of the water. One of the defining features of a spottail shiner is the black spot found at the base of the caudal fin. These shiners generally spawn from late June through July.
The carmine shiner is a freshwater fish species. In Manitoba, it was once known as the rosyface shiner. Based mostly on zoogeographic data, it is currently classified as a distinct species within the rosyface shiner species complex. The carmine shiner is a member of the Minnow family, Cyprinidae. It has the following characteristics and distinguishing features:
The weed shiner is a North American species of freshwater fish in the cyprinid genus Notropis. Prior to 1958, this species was named Notropis roseus.
The ghost shiner is a North American species of freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. It is generally characterized as being a small bodied, silvery and fusiform shaped cyprinid. Notropis buchanani is morphologically similar to and often mistaken for the Mimic Shiner, which is evident by its former classification as a subspecies of Notropis volucellus.
The yellow shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis. It is endemic to Mexico where it is found in the Rio Lerma - Rio Grande de Santiago and Rio Pánuco in central Mexico. It forms a species complex within the genus Notropis with the Ameca shiner and the now-extinct Durango shiner.
The ironcolor shiner is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae, the minnows and carps. It is a widespread species in streams and rivers in eastern North America.
The Chihuahua shiner is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. It is found in southern Texas and northern Mexico.
The blacktail shiner is a small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to the United States.
Percina phoxocephala, the slenderhead 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 North America in the central Ohio and Mississippi River basins, to northeastern South Dakota and the Lake Winnebago system in Wisconsin, and as far south as the Red River in eastern Oklahoma and northeast Texas, typically in small to medium size rivers. It is a colorful species, with an average length of 6 to 9 centimeters. Males take on a deeper hue during the breeding season. It feeds on insect larvae and other small invertebrates, and spawns between April and June. It is a common fish with a very wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The ribbon shiner is a species of freshwater fish of the cyprinid genus Lythrurus and is native to the United States.
The Zacapu shiner is a small North American freshwater fish, where it is known only from the Zacapu Lagoon and its outlet in Michoacán, Mexico.
