The common shiner (''Luxilus cornutus'') is a species of
freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
ray-finned fish
Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...
belonging to the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Leuciscidae
Leuciscidae is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes, formerly classified as a subfamily of the Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows.
Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnow ...
, the shiners, daces and minnows. This fish is found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. It ranges in length between , although they can reach lengths of up to .
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 . 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 Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the family (biology), family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. They are known commonly as eastern shiners.
File:Luxilus cornutus 158541817.jpg, In
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
File:Luxilus cornutus 302203576.jpg, In
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
Life history
The common shiner can be found in cool clear creeks and small to medium rivers, usually in the faster pools near riffles and in the shallow littoral of ponds and lakes. They usually concentrate on pools. Its preferred water temperature is .
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 . Common shiners often spawn over the nest of a creek chub, river chub, or fallfish, although some males will make their own small nests.
Gravel
Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
in riffles 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
The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...
and
chain pickerel
The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (biology), family (family Esocidae) of order (biology), order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox ...
kingfisher
Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...