Silverjaw minnows (''Ericymba buccata'') 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. With over 300 known species, there are more species of minnows native to North America's fresh waters than any other fish. Minnows can be hard to distinguish because many look alike.McClane, A.J. 1965. ''McClane's Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America''. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. All minnows have one

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

, ventral fins near the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

, a

lateral line system The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

(in most species), and smooth, round cycloid scales.Page, L.M. and Burr, B.M. 2011. ''Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America North of Mexico''. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Their jaws lack teeth, but they have one to three rows of

pharyngeal teeth Pharyngeal teeth are teeth in the pharyngeal arch of the throat of cyprinids, suckers, and a number of other fish species otherwise lacking teeth. Defining physical characteristics such as the number and type of fin rays, type of scales, and pattern of pharyngeal teeth are used to distinguish minnows. Silverjaw minnows have a head with a flat underside and large silvery-white chambers on the sides that form their complete lateral line system. Since these fish are relatively small, 2–3 inches in length, large numbers can exist in a small area and still find necessary resources. They are native to many streams and rivers in the United States in a

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

Physical description

The silverjaw minnow has a

with many distinctive silvery-white pores connecting to an internal canal that helps the fish detect

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

.''Silverjaw minnow''. 2012. Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/silverjaw-minnow (accessed May 2016). One key feature of all minnows is that their dorsal fin has fewer than ten supporting structures, called rays.Phillips, G.L., Schmid, W.D. and Underhill, J.C. 1982. ''Fishes of the Minnesota Region''. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press. Silverjaw minnows have eight soft-rays which are thin, flexible membranous structures. Their dorsal fin is over their pelvic region where their ventral fins are located. They are light tan with a dark line on their back and have darkly outlined scales. Another defining feature is the presence of breast scales, which distinguishes them from the longjaw minnow. These fish are

edentulous Toothlessness or edentulism is the condition of having no teeth. In organisms that naturally have teeth, it is the result of tooth loss. Organisms that never possessed teeth can also be described as edentulous. Examples are the members of the fo ...

, lacking teeth on their jaws; however, they do have

pharyngeal teeth Pharyngeal teeth are teeth in the pharyngeal arch of the throat of cyprinids, suckers, and a number of other fish species otherwise lacking teeth. Their eyes are nearly atop their heads pointing upward. They have a slightly compressed body with the deepest part by the back of their neck. Their long snout which projects slightly past their subterminal mouth relates to their feeding behaviors as bottom dwelling fishes. Silverjaw minnows grow to be about 2–3 inches in length.

Range/distribution

This species exhibits a

, existing in a northern and southern range in the United States.Nico, L. 2004. ''Notropis buccatus''. ''USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database''. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=588 (accessed May 2016). The northern range extends from eastern Missouri to Maryland, extending north into the southern

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and south to the Cumberland River Drainage in northern Tennessee. They commonly inhabit the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, and Atlantic Coastal

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

. The southern range includes areas of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Major habitats in this range include the

Apalachicola River The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately long, in the state of Florida. The river's large drainage basin, watershed, known as the ACF River Basin, Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint (ACF) River Basin, drains an area of approximately ...

and

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

Habitat

Silverjaw minnows exist in large schools at the bottom of shallow, freshwater creeks, streams, and small to medium rivers with gravelly or sandy floors. They prefer the continuously moving water of riffles. Typically they inhabit clear waters without silt.

Diet and feeding behavior

The silverjaw minnow is a bottom-feeder that feeds mostly during the day on prey of the order

Diptera 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 advance ...

including chironomids (non-biting midges), ephemeroptera (mayflies), and

cladocera The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, is a superorder (biology), superorder of small, mostly freshwater crustaceans, most of which feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter, though some forms are predatory. Over 1000 sp ...

(water fleas).Hoyt, R.D. 1970. Food habits of the silverjaw minnow, ''Ericymba buccata'' Cope, in an intermittent stream in Kentucky. ''American Midland Naturalist'', 84, 226–236. They also prey at night due to the low density of prey in the

benthos Benthos (), also known as benthon, is the community of organisms that live on, in, or near the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, also known as the benthic zone. Their four main feeding behaviors are searching, mouthing, jabbing, and digging.Wallace, D.C. 1976. Feeding behavior and developmental , seasonal and diel changes in the food of the silverjaw minnow, ''Ericymba buccata'' Cope. ''American Midland Naturalist'', 95, 361–376. The amount of food available and the behaviors of other individuals in the school influence which behavior is chosen. All behaviors involve skimming the bottom of the water source in search for food. Silverjaw minnows are selective feeders, only feeding on less than 50% of benthos organisms. They determine what food to consume through taste and tactile senses.

Reproduction and life cycle

Silverjaw minnows have a typical life span of three to four years.Wallace, D.C. 1971. The age and growth of the silverjaw minnow, ''Ericymba buccata'' Cope. ''American Midland Naturalist'', 86, 116–1127. Eggs hatch between late spring and late summer. Growth of fish in their second and third summers occurs from May or June to the end of July. Growth stops during the fall and winter months due to a slowed

metabolic rate Metabolism (, from ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cellular processes; the co ...

Sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans, it is related to both puberty and adulthood. ''Puberty'' is the biological process of sexual maturation, while ''adulthood'', the condition of being socially recognized ...

is obtained late in their first summer or in their second summer.Etnier, D.A. and Starnes W.C. 1993. ''The Fishes of Tennessee''. Knoxville, Tennessee: The University of Tennessee Press. Adults typically

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

in mid-spring, but spawning occurs in July for the previous year's offspring. Eggs are scattered along the bottom substrate.

Importance to humans

The fishing industry economically profits from minnows as a commonly used bait. Minnows are also an important food source for larger game fish prized by fishermen.

Etymology

The silverjaw minnow gets its name from silvery-looking sensory organs along its jaw. The word ''minnow'' comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon word for small, . The scientific name, ''Ericymba buccata'' comes from the Greek word , meaning intensifying, the Greek word , meaning cavity, and the Latin word , meaning cheek.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q116179052, from2=Q28746362, from3=Q3756770 buccata Fish described in 1865 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Freshwater fish of North America