Common Shiner

Common Shiner
Common Shiner
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Luxilus
Species: L. cornutus
Binomial name
Luxilus cornutus
(Mitchill, 1817)
Synonyms

Notropis cornutus

The Common Shiner is a fish found in North America. They average in length between 2½ to 4 inches.[1]

Contents

Description

The Common Shiner is silvery colored (sometimes bronze) and has an "olive back with a dark dorsal stripe." [2]

In comparison with other Notropis, the Common Shiner's head, eyes, and mouth are larger.[1]

Habitat

The Common Shiner can be found in rivers and streams, usually in the faster pools. It can also be found in ponds and lakes. [2]

Breeding

Common shiners spawn in spring, usually over the nest of a creek chub, river chub, or fallfish, although some males will make their own small nests. Gravel in riffles is also possible.[1] Once the eggs are ready the male guards the nesting site. [2]

Common Shiners are known to hybridize with other shiner species.[1]

Diet

The Common Shiner eats "terrestrial and aquatic insects, vegetation, and other fishes." [2]

Predators

Predators of the Common Shiner include fish (such as the smallmouth bass and chain pickerel) and birds (i.e. mergansers and kingfishers). [2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Common Shiner (Notropis cornutus)". Archived from the original on 2008-05-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20080504051142/http://pond.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/cyprinidae/common_shiner.html. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
  2. ^ a b c d e "Common Shiner". http://www.unb.ca/cri/projects/Fish_key/Cyprinidae/Common_Shiner.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 


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