The bluenose shiner (''Pteronotropis welaka'') is a species of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

in the family

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

. It is found only in the United States, mostly in Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia; its habitat is deep, slow-moving coastal creeks and small to medium rivers and prefers deep pools than shallow areas. It is found in Pearl River,

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 160 mi (180 km) long in the state of Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its fa ...

and

St. Johns River The St. Johns River ( es, Río San Juan) is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant one for commercial and recreational use. At long, it flows north and winds through or borders twelve counties. The drop in eleva ...

but it is apparently not found in

Escatawpa River Escatawpa River is a river in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. It is a tributary of the Pascagoula River. ''Escatawpa '' is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "where Canebrake, cane is cut". See also *List of rivers of Alaba ...

and Perdido River. It is known to have a fragmented population and so has a spotty distribution in Chipola River, Choctawhatchee River, Yellow River, Conecuh River,

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka. The river flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about from Mobile, it un ...

and Tombigbee River. The population is very poorly known with it being rare in the western panhandle of Florida, decline from the past 10 years in Mississippi and "ever decreasing" in Alabama. In 2013, the conservation status was changed from

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

to Vulnerable. It is threatened by streamside vegetation removal for agricultural and urban development and overcollection for the aquarium trade.

References

Pteronotropis Fish described in 1898 Taxa named by Barton Warren Evermann Fish of the United States Cyprinid fish of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Leuciscinae-stub