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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

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. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

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

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

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 regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...

. It consumes

chironomid Chironomidae , commonly known as non-biting midges or chironomids , are a family of Nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the families Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Although many chironomid s ...

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 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 of jointed ...

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 Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

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

winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

. The fish lays eggs during the same time and often the same nest as the longear sunfish. 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 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope