The rosefin shiner (''Lythrurus ardens'') is a species of fish native to the United States. The fish is omnivorous and lives in freshwater rivers and creeks in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

Description

The fish has a long and slender body. It also has eight dorsal fin-rays, anywhere from nine to eleven anal fin-rays, thirteen to fourteen pectoral fin-rays and eight pelvic fin-rays. The fish has a dark spot of pigment at the base of its first few dorsal-fins, which distinguishes ''Lythrurus ardens'' from similar looking fish in its habitat. In addition, the fish has a stripe that fades as it approaches the dorsa fin and several bands of coloration across the back of the fish.

Habitat

The fish lives throughout

and

. The range of the fish is believed to have been accidentally increased when it was used as bait and escaped into the natural environment. For example, the fish is believed to have been introduced to the York River in Virginia this way. It lives in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...

pools rivers and creeks. The fish prefers clear and turbid water. It is largely absent from streams with

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', '' Salmo'' and '' Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-sa ...

in them. In winter, the fish tends to live in deeper and less noisy waters.

Behavior

The fish is an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

. It consumes

chironomid The Chironomidae (informally known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species ...

mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the order ...

, aquatic

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

dipteran Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

s, and plants. The fish reproduces through

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aqua ...

in fast-moving waters. They tend to stay in these waters until

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

. The fish lays eggs during the same time and often the same nest as the

longear sunfish The longear sunfish (''Lepomis megalotis'') is a freshwater fish in the sunfish family, Centrarchidae, of order Perciformes. It is native to the area of eastern North America stretching from the Great Lakes down to northeastern Mexico.Berra, Ti ...

. The two fish species work together to defend the nest from predators.

Conservation status

The fish is believed to have a generally stable population. It has a large habitat range and population. In addition, there are no major threats to its survival. Due to these factors, the fish is not believed to be at risk of extinction.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5832532 Lythrurus Fish described in 1868 Freshwater fish of the United States