The spottail shiner or spottail minnow (''Notropis hudsonius'') is a small- to medium-sized freshwater

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are c ...

. It can be found as far north as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and as far south as the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatt ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. These shiners live in lakes, rivers, and creeks. They occupy the rocky or sandy shorelines and bottoms of the water. One of the defining features of a spottail shiner is the black spot found at the base of the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. These shiners generally

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: A ...

from late June through July.

Description

Spottail shiners are typically small to medium-sized minnows. The average size ranges from around . They can reach up to at their maximum length. They have a slightly elongate, compressed body with a horizontal, sub-terminal mouth. The defining feature of a spottail shiner is the distinct black spot at the base of the

. The lower edge of the caudal fin can be white in color with all of the other fins lacking pigment. The

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

sits directly above the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two ...

s. The dorsal side of this shiner can range from a silvery to pale green or olive color, whereas the ventral side is white. The spottail shiner has a complete lateral line running horizontally along its sides.

Geographic distribution

''Notropis'' species mainly live in streams and rivers but can be found in larger lakes.Whittier, T. et al. (2000) "Distribution of lake fishes in the northeast: II. The minnows (Cyrinidae)." Northeastern Naturalist. 7:131-156 They can be found deep, on substrates of sand and gravel.http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/species_a_to_z/SpeciesGuideIndex/spottailshiner/tabid/22423/Default.aspx The spottail shiner is one of more common species of the genus ''Notropis.'' Spottail shiners are native to Canada and the United States. They are found in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Chattahoochee River and Altamaha River in Georgia, the Mackenzie River basin in Canada, Ohio Illinois, the Hudson Bay, some lakes throughout Montana, and the Great Lakes. They can also be found in some lakes in the upper northeast region of the United States. These spottail shiners seem to have only occupied the areas of Canada and United States that they are currently distributed today, with the exception of Montana. It seems that the shiners have been introduced in lakes through Montana in order to become bait for some of the larger gaming fish such as the walleye.

Ecology

Spottail shiners are generally omnivorous fish that feed on plants, aquatic invertebrate, and zoobenthos. Zoobenthos are the invertebrates that occupy the benthos of the riverbeds and lakebeds. This shiner is said to feed on green algae, plant debris, vascular plants, water fleas, caddis flies, mayflies, nematocerans, and the remains of macroinvertabrates. Given the small size of the fish it does not usually prey on other fish species. The spottail shiner obtains much of its food by scavenging on the floor of the river, lakes, and streams that it occupies. Given the small size of spottail shiners, many different species of fish prey upon them. Some predators include

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

coho salmon The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family (biology), family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientif ...

chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morp ...

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

(''Salvelinus namaycush''), and

bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as t ...

(''Pomatomus saltatrix''). The spottail shiner mainly competes with species that have the same diet and live in the areas. These competitors can include other species of shiners, yellow perches, or white perches. There are certain abiotic factors that determine spottail shiners' habitat. The spottail shiner's highest activity levels are usually seen in areas where the pH value range between 5.6 and 6.6, maximizing at a pH value around 6.1. Spottail shiners generally live in waters that temperatures range from .

Life history

The life history of the spottail shiner has not been studied much. Spottail shiners breeding season usually occurs in the summertime during the months of June and July. They are thought to spawn in the sandy bottoms and shorelines of the rivers, lakes, and creeks where they live. Females are thought to produce anywhere from 100 to 2,600 eggs per spawning event. The mature age of a spottail shiner is around one or two years of age. The maximum age recorded for a spottail shiner to live is 5 years. Since there has not been a lot of research involving the life history of the spottail shiner not a lot of information can be given on spawning and reproduction.

Conservation and management

Spottail shiners are currently listed as of least concern. These shiners are not vulnerable in the wild yet. The primary causes for death is being preyed upon, pollution of their natural habitat, and parasites. Minnows are used as bait for game fishing. These shiners are caught and used as bait fish throughout the area they occupy. They are one of the most popular minnow used to lure walleyes. Their shiny scales and small bodies attract specific species of game fish that anglers frequently try to catch. Currently there are conservation agencies at the state-level protecting these shiners from being harvested for fish bait. Pollution of many different toxic chemicals into the areas that these shiners live is one of the main causes of death.Menard, L. et al. (2010) "The impacts of urban pollution on the immune system of spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) in the St. Lawrence River" Fresenius Environmental BuIletin. 19:1369-1374 It is found that water pollution from wastewater and runoff affect the immune system of spottail shiners.Mclaughlin, J. D. et al. (2007) "Effects of pollution and parasites on biomarkers of fish health in spottail shiners Notropis hudsonius (Clinton)" Journal of fish biology. 71:519-538. There are certain parasites that also affect the life of these shiners. The parasites are also found to affect the immune system in spottail shiners.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2606512 spottail shiner Freshwater fish of North America Fish of the Great Lakes spottail shiner