| Weed shiner | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Leuciscinae |
| Clade: | Pogonichthyinae |
| Genus: | Notropis |
| Species: | N. texanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Notropis texanus (Girard, 1856) | |
| Synonyms | |
The weed shiner (Notropis texanus) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the cyprinid genus Notropis . [1] Prior to 1958, this species was named Notropis roseus. [2]
The weed shiner, Notropis texanus, is a member of the family Cyprinidae. It is a medium-sized minnow with a broad, dark lateral band down and a dark spot at the base of the caudal fin. The posterior 3-4 anal rays often have a dark pigment. [2] Weed shiners have a somewhat compressed body, a large terminal to subterminal mouth, a gently rounded snout, and an eye diameter less than or equal to its snout length. The lateral line system is completely pored with 34-36 scales and is slightly decurved anteriorly. [2] The dorsal surface of this fish tends to be olive-yellow with a silvery overlay and has dark-edged scales, giving off a checkerboard appearance. The ventral surface is white with silver tones. [2] Weed shiners have a total of 6-8 gill rakers, 8 dorsal rays, 7 anal rays, 13-14 pectoral rays, and 8 pelvic rays. [3]
Weed shiners feed during the day, with peaks in activity after sunrise or during mid-afternoon. During the wet season, their diet is mostly composed of organic detritus (81% by volume). During the wet season, their diet includes surface animal prey (20% by volume), midwater prey (5%), benthic animal prey (39%), and organic detritus (35%). [3]
Weed shiners are commonly found in the lower third of the water column in small to moderate sized streams of slow to moderate flow. They can be found in man-made ponds, reservoirs, and natural oxbow lakes. [3] Despite its name, these fish are prevalent in both vegetated and non-vegetated waterways. [2]
Weed shiners spawn from March through September (sometimes early October), in water temperatures between 14 and 29 °C. Female weed shiners produce multiple clutches of eggs during the breeding season; therefore, it is hard to accurately estimate annual egg production.
Larval development has not yet been described in weed shiners. Growth of this species is very rapid in the beginning stages of development. They reach about 60% of their maximum length after one year of growth. Although some weed shiners manage to reach their fourth year of life, most of them die after their third year of life. [3]
The weed shiner occurs in the Mississippi River Basin from Minnesota and Wisconsin down to the Gulf of Mexico. It ranges all throughout Gulf of Mexico drainage, from the Suwannee River of Florida and Georgia to the Nueces River of Texas, and is more abundant south of the Ohio-Tennessee River confluences. It has also been reported in the Red River of the North drainage in Minnesota and drainages of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. [3]
Notropis means "keeled back". Texanus is a reference to the type locality, Salado Creek, Texas. [3]
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 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 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 blacknose shiner is a species of fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae.
The longnose shiner is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis.
The mimic shiner is a species of North American cyprinid freshwater fish in the genus Notropis. The genus Notropis is commonly known as the eastern shiners. It is native to areas of the Hudson Bay drainage, Great Lakes drainage, much of the Mississippi River basin including areas of Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and regions of the Gulf of Mexico extending from Mobile Bay to the drainage of Texas. However, this particular species can be found in other places such as the Atlantic Coast drainage in Connecticut and Housatonic rivers. This genus is usually characterized by almost all having a complete lateral line, 8 dorsal fin rays, a premaxillae protactile, and a silvery or speckled peritoneum. As the common name indicates, this species is difficult to classify in the wild because it looks similar to many other shiners. In fact, some even hypothesize that this species is actually a complexity of many cryptic species. While this is the case, it is important to take more caution to not misidentify this species and to understand its impact on introduced areas.
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.
Etheostoma exile, the Iowa 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, along with about 17 other species of darters, is native to the lakes and streams of Iowa.
The blacktail shiner is a small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to the United States.
The creek chubsucker is a freshwater fish of the sucker family (Catostomidae).
The bluntnose 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 eastern North America where it is found in slower moving and still waters.
The goldstripe 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 endemic to the southeastern United States where it is found in Gulf Slope streams from the Colorado River drainage in Texas to the Flint River in Georgia, the Atlantic Slope in Ocmulgee River system, Georgia, and the Mississippi embayment north as far as southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky. It is typically found in small springs, streams, and creeks with aquatic and marginal vegetation and detritus. The female spawns on multiple occasions between about mid-March and June, sticking the adhesive eggs to plants, gravel and the sides of rocks. The goldstripe darter is a common species with a wide range and numerous sub-populations, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed 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.
