The cherryfin shiner (''Lythrurus roseipinnis'') is a species of fish native to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

in the southeastern United States. A 2007 analysis of the genus ''Lythrurus'' noted that individuals assigned to the cherryfin shiner exhibited significant genetic divergence and that there is greater genetic diversity within this species than current taxonomy reflects.

Description

It is distinguished by having black spots on the tips of its dorsal and anal fins. Males in breeding condition have pale to bright red fins, giving the fish the common name cherryfin shiner. It has a fairly large eye with a deep, compressed body that is pale olive above with a dusky stripe on its back. It also has a dark stripe on the rear half of its side and dusky colored lips and chin. Adults reach lengths up to and have 11-12 anal rays and 36-49 lateral scales. This fish is very similar to the

pretty shiner The pretty shiner (''Lythrurus bellus'') is a freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. It occurs in the Mobile Bay drainage, and the Tennessee River drainage of the Bear and Yellow Creek systems in Alabama and ...

, and their ranges meet north of Mobile Bay in southern Alabama, but are otherwise geographically separated.

Distribution

It ranges across the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

from extreme eastern Louisiana north of

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from wes ...

, eastward across much of southern Mississippi, to extreme southeastern Alabama around

Mobile Bay Mobile Bay ( ) is a shallow inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. Th ...

. In Mississippi, its range also includes the

Yazoo River The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. states of Louisiana and Mississippi. It is considered by some to mark the southern boundary of what is called the Mississippi Delta, a broad floodplain that was cultivated for cotton plantations before th ...

, Big Black River, and Bayou Pierre drainages in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

watershed. One specimen has been recorded from Coles Creek in Mississippi.

Habitat

The cherryfin shiner occupies headwater streams and small rivers with moderate currents that provide riffle and riffle-pool habitats with sand or sand-gravel bottoms.

Behavior

It feeds primarily during the day on aquatic insects.

Conservation status

This is a common fish with a relatively stable population.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5623197 Lythrurus Fish described in 1885 Freshwater fish of the United States