The clear chub (''Hybopsis winchelli'') is a species of freshwater

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 species is found in the United States.

Description

''Hybopsis winchelli'' is a species of freshwater fish with terminal maxillary barbels at exist in various degrees of development. Some populations have well-developed barbels while others have rudimentary barbels. Other populations have barbels that are nonexistent. Just as the barbel development is variable, so is the pigmentation of the fish. Most populations exhibit a dark band that runs laterally along the sides, opercle, snout and causal base of the fish. In most populations, the pigmentation intensifies at the causal base that forms an ill-defined, continuous causal spot. There may also be a predorsal stripe and a small dark spot on the dorsal fin. The scales themselves have a pigment concentration along the edges of the scales so that they give the fish a cross-hatched appearance. The sides below the lateral line are white, and the only melanophores are scattered along the base of the anal fin. The head of the fish is flat with a rounded conic snout that overhangs a small, central mouth. The eyes are relatively large, and the scales are relatively large and uniform all over the body of the fish. The lateral line is straight and completely pored with about 39–42 scales. The largest specimens measure about in length.

Habitat

The habitat of the clear chub includes creeks and rivers ranging from small to medium sizes. The clear chub usually prefers sand-silt bottoms, or pools adjacent to riffle areas.

Reproduction and life cycle

Spawning usually occurs between the months of February to March in water temperatures of . The larvae usually remain in shallow water, which is generally less than deep that only moves at a rate of .

Distribution

The range of the clear chub includes the eastern tributaries of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, southwestern

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and extends east along the Gulf Slope up to and including the Mobile

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, as well as the

Perdido River The Perdido River, also historically known as Rio Perdido or by its native name of Cassaba, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. states ...

system east to the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

basin, and

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

drainages from the Ocklockonee River in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and

Flint River The Flint River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 15, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. The river drains of western Georgia, flowing south from th ...

in Georgia, to the Mississippi River in Mississippi.

Etymology

The species name, ''winchelli'', originates from Professor

Alexander Winchell Alexander Winchell (December 31, 1824, in North East, New York – February 19, 1891, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) was an American geologist who contributed to this field mainly as an educator and a popular lecturer and writer. His views on evolutio ...

. He provided Dr. Girard with the specimens he needed to categorize the clear chub. Winchell acquired his specimens from the

Black Warrior River The Black Warrior River is a waterway in west-central Alabama in the southeastern United States. The river rises in the extreme southern edges of the Appalachian Highlands and flows 178 miles (286 km) to the Tombigbee River, of which the ...

, Alabama.

References