The blackside dace (''Chrosomus cumberlandensis'')
FishBase.) is a species of ray-finned fish 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 endemic to the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

drainage in Kentucky and Tennessee as well as the Powell River drainage in Virginia in the United States. It is a federally listed threatened species.USFWS
Determination of threatened species status for Blackside Dace.
''Federal Register'' June 12, 1987.

Description

This fish is 50 to 65 millimeters in length. It is olive green in color with black speckling and a black stripe. During the breeding season in April through July the stripe becomes a deeper black, there are red areas on the upper parts, and the fins become yellow.Johnson, T. D., et al
Blackside Dace ''Phoxinus cumberlandensis'' Species account and Cumberland Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) survey results.

Ecology

This fish is found in 105 streams in Kentucky and Tennessee, but many of these populations are very small, with under 10 individuals. The species has been found in western Virginia, but these populations are believed to have been introduced by people. The fish lives in cool, clear streams with rocky substrates and overhanging vegetation. It is schooling and lives under banks and rock formations. Other fish in the habitat include the common creek chub (''Semotilus atromaculatus''), white sucker (''Catostomus commersoni''), stoneroller (''Campostoma anomalum''), and stripetail darter (''Etheostoma kennicotti''). The dace eats

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and sometimes insects. It lives 2–3 years and becomes sexually mature in its first year.Eisenhour, D. J. and R. M. Strange. (1998)
Threatened fishes of the world: ''Phoxinus cumberlandensis'' Starnes & Starnes, 1978 (Cyprinidae).
''Environmental Biology of Fishes'' 51(2) 140. The female lays an average of 1540 eggs.Starnes, L. B. and W. C. Starnes. (1981)
Biology of the Blackside Dace ''Phoxinus cumberlandensis''
''American Midland Naturalist'' 106(2) 360-71.

Population threats

The species is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. The rocky riverbed substrates in which it spawns are degraded by erosion and sedimentation, which are increased by human activities such as runoff pipes from septic tanks, and trash being dumped into streams. Several populations have been extirpated by these processes. In 2007 a large scale die-off of aquatic life, including blackside dace, occurred in the Acorn Fork in Kentucky. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that the most likely cause was a spill of

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...

fluid from nearby natural gas wells. The results of a joint study indicated that the spill caused a spike in acidity, as well as toxic concentrations of

heavy metals upright=1.2, Crystals of osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">lead.html" ;"title="osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead">osmium, a heavy metal nearly twice as dense as lead Heavy metals are generally defined as ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2236034 Chrosomus Fish described in 1978 Natural history of Kentucky Natural history of Tennessee Freshwater fish of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot