Name:
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- Notropis, from the Greek, "back keel"
- blennius, from the Latin name for the marine
fish called a blenny, which it resembles somewhat.
- Common Name from its preferred habitat in running waters.
- Other common names include: Shiner, Poor Minnow, Straw-colored Minnow
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Taxonomy:
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- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
- Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
- Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
- Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
- Subclass Neopterygii
- Infraclass Teleostei
- Superorder Ostariophysi
- Order Cypriniformes, minnows and suckers
- Family Cyprinidae, carps and minnows
- Genus Notropis, the eastern shiners
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Description:
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- A
- Length 2½"
- Weight
- Coloration
- olive-straw colored on back
- silvery sides
- white to silvery belly
- Body
- robust and slightly compressed laterally
- lateral band, if present, is faint.
- mid-dorsal stripe from the top of the head to the tail, well developed
and surrounding the base of the dorsal fin
- dorsal fin inserted over the pelvic fin, both with 8 rays.
- pectoral fins of 13-15 rays
- anal fin usually has 7 rays
- complete lateral line of 32-37 scales
- Head
- large mouth, slightly sub-terminal, and moderately oblique
- barbel lacking
- pharyngeal teeth strongly hooked, on stout arches in a 2, 4-4, 2 pattern
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Identification:
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Distribution:
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- Alberta and Wyoming east to Pennsylvania, south to Texas and Tennessee.
- Common in the Rainy River drainage of northern Minnesota.
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Habitat:
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- Swift channels of larger rivers, where turbidity may be high.
- Only rarely in lakes.
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Foods:
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History:
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Uses:
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Reproduction:
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- Spawns over sand and gravel bars late spring through mid-summer.
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Comments:
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Links:
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Last updated on 17 October 1999
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