The common shiner (''Luxilus cornutus'') is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, found in North America. It ranges in length between 4 and 6 inches, although they can reach lengths of up to 8 inches.

Description

The common shiner is silvery colored (sometimes bronze) and has an "olive back with a dark dorsal stripe." The common shiner is a freshwater fish found in North America. Adults inhabit rocky pools in small to medium rivers. They can live to be approximately 6 years old. They are considered sexually mature by 7.4 cm. Breeding males have a pinkish tint over most of their body and small bumps or tubercles on their head. In comparison with ''

Notropis ''Notropis'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are known commonly as eastern shiners.''N ...

'', the common shiner's head, eyes, and mouth are large.

Life history

The common shiner can be found in cool clear creeks and small to medium rivers, usually in the faster pools near

riffles A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics. Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...

and in the shallow littoral of ponds and lakes. They usually concentrate on pools. Its preferred water temperature is 21.9 °C. The common shiner reaches sexual maturity by 1–2 years of age, and produces between 400 and 4000 eggs per year. Common shiners spawn in spring between May and June, at temperatures of 16-26 °C. Common shiners often spawn over the nest of a creek chub,

river chub The river chub (''Nocomis micropogon'') is a minnow in the family Cyprinidae. It is one of the most common fishes in North American streams. Appearance and anatomy The river chub is a robust minnow, dark olivaceous above to dusky yellow below, ...

, or

fallfish The fallfish (''Semotilus corporalis'') is a North American freshwater fish, a chub in the family Cyprinidae. The fallfish is the largest minnow species native to Eastern North America. Description Average specimens generally measure about in ...

, although some males will make their own small nests. Gravel in

riffle A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics. Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...

s is also possible. Spawning males are territorial and will often engage in fights with other males. Once the eggs are ready the male guards the nesting site. Common shiners are known to hybridize with other shiner species. Common shiners live for about 4-6 years.

Diet

The common shiner eats "terrestrial and aquatic insects, vegetation, and other fishes."

Predators

Predators of the common shiner include fish (such as the smallmouth bass and

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy Fren ...

) and birds (i.e.

merganser ''Mergus'' is the genus of the typical mergansers , fish-eating ducks in the subfamily Anatinae. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny the Elder and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird. The common merganser (''Mer ...

s and

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s).

References

Luxilus Taxa named by Samuel L. Mitchill Fish described in 1817 Freshwater fish of North America Minnows {{Notropis-stub