The orangetail shiner (''Pteronotropis merlini'') 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 ...

. It is endemic to in the

Choctawhatchee River The Choctawhatchee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map , accessed 15 April 2011 river in the southern United States, flowing through southeast Alabama and the Panhandle o ...

drainage in southeastern

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 ...

Description

The fish is similar to the

sailfin shiner The sailfin shiner (''Pteronotropis hypselopterus'') is a species of is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. This species is endemic to the southeastern United States. Desc ...

. It has a very deep and compressed body. It has between 35 and 42 scales along the lateral line. It has a maximum total length of 6.5 cm (2.5 in). It usually has 10 anal rays. Breeding males have a chevron-shaped black blotch at the origin of the caudal fin separated from a dark black stripe along the side, and have orange caudal and anal fins.

Distribution and habitat

The fish is the only fish found exclusively in Alabama, primarily upland in the Choctawhatchee River system before it merges with the

Pea River The Pea River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 15, 2011 tributary of the Choctawhatchee River near Geneva, Alabama, United States. It is a popular destinatio ...

. Orangetail shiners are found in sand-bottomed and silt-bottomed creeks and small rivers. It is often found among debris and undercut banks. It is found in bodies with reduced current, usually under overhanging banks or overhanging vegetation, or around roots or stumps. The fish prefers temperatures from 12°C (54°F) to 23°C (73°F).

References

Fish of the United States Fish described in 2001 Pteronotropis Taxa named by Royal Dallas Suttkus {{Leuciscinae-stub