The Mississippi silvery minnow (''Hybognathus nuchalis'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is one of the 324 fish species found in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Relative to other minnows, the Mississippi Silvery Minnow is a large minnow. These minnows require a body of water with little to no current. The most documentation of these minnows is from the Little and Great Miami river along with the Ohio river and tributes off these rivers. In terms of conservation, the population in Ohio is at an all-time low, but overall there is little conservation concern about this specific minnow. In general there has been little research done on the Mississippi silvery minnow.

Distribution

The Mississippi silvery minnow is native to North America. North America these fish have been documented to live in low land areas of the

Mississippi river basin The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. This stretches from Minnesota down to Ohio. There is also documentation of these minnows in the

Mississippi river The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

all the way to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. It is very common to find these fish in smaller streams right before the stream connects to a larger stream/river. Other states that have records of the Mississippi silvery minnow include Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, and New Mexico.

Physical description

The Mississippi silvery minnow gets its name in part to its appearance. The majority of this fish is covered in silver scales that are very reflective with a large dark stripe down the center of their back. The average minnow length is between 12 and 13 centimeters. The Mississippi silvery minnow has a

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

on each side of its body. These minnows have a pair of pectoral fins, along with a pair of small pelvic fins. The Mississippi silvery minnow, like many other minnows, have an anal fin, dorsal fin, and a powerful caudal fin. The dorsal fin is very centered between the head and the caudal fin. All fins on the fish have no makings and are transparent. The Mississippi silvery minnow closely resembles the Cypress minnow.

Habitat and diet

The Mississippi silvery minnow mainly lives in freshwater river basins and shallow ponds/streams. These shallow streams are usually low gradient streams. These fish are categorized as benthopelagic feeders. The Mississippi silvery minnow feeds in large schools of other silvery minnows and feed mainly on

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone.fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

found on the bottom or in the sediment, and also small swimming organisms.

Reproduction

The female Mississippi silvery minnow spreads her eggs along the bottom in soft mud. The offspring will

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

in early summer, dates vary depending on location. For example, in Wisconsin they span in late April. Eggs are on average 0.8mm in diameter. Mississippi silvery minnows do not provide any sort of parental care from either the male or female. These minnows have also never been documented defending any sort of territory."Ohio.gov / Search." Mississippi Silvery Minnow. Web. 06 May 2016.

Other notes

There is little to no information/research done on the Mississippi silvery minnow. This is most likely due to how many different types of minnows populate the United States. If there's any question to what the Mississippi silvery minnow looks like

Google Images Google Images (previously Google Image Search) is a search engine owned by Google that allows users to search the World Wide Web for images. It was introduced on July 12, 2001 due to a demand for pictures of the green Versace dress of Jennifer Lo ...

will provide adequate photos; Due to copyright issues, no pictures were able to be inserted onto this page.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1150577 Hybognathus Fish described in 1855 Freshwater fish of the United States Taxa named by Louis Agassiz