The sailfin shiner (''Pteronotropis hypselopterus'') is a species of 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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the southeastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Description

The sailfin shiner has a deep and compressed body, with a narrow base for the caudal fin. Its lateral line is curved downward. It has a maximum total length of 7 cm (2.75 in). The fish is pink-brown or olive on the top half and a white or light pink on the bottom half. It has a dark brown stripe that extends from the head to the dorsal fin, and has a steel-blue stripe along the side that has a thin pink to red line bordering above. The base of the caudal fin has a small red spot on the top and bottom of the side, while a black spot is on the center of the side of the base of the caudal fin. The dorsal fin has a dusky central band, and other fins are a yellow to light orange. The dorsal and anal fins are almost triangular, resembling sails, from which their common name is derived. Breeding males have light orange edges on their dorsal fins.

Distribution and habitat

The fish can be found in

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, 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 Tex ...

drainages from Alabama to Florida, including in the Mobile Basin. The fish inhabit sand-bottomed and clay-bottomed pools or run waters of creeks and small rivers. They can often be found around debris or vegetation.

Life history

As the fish begins its life as an embryo, its cement glands begin to develop. As a non feeding larva, glue is secreted from the cement glands and the posterior swim bladder forms. The gills, mouth, and gut lining form. The yolk sac becomes streamlined. When swim-up begins, glue secretion stops. The posterior swim bladder becomes inflated. During this stage, the fish is suspended in the water column, and the yolk is almost depleted. The anterior swim bladder forms. After initial feeding, median and pelvic fins develop, and the anterior swim bladder inflates.

References

Fish of the United States Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States Fish described in 1868 Taxa named by Albert Günther Pteronotropis {{Leuciscinae-stub