Family Cyprinidae | Genus Notropis Rank Species | |
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Similar Blackchin shiner, Mimic shiner, Etheostoma exile, Pugnose shiner, Finescale dace | ||
Big school of blacknose shiners
The blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) is a species of fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae.
Contents
Description
The blacknose shiner is a soft-rayed species up to 9.8 cm with toothless jaws, but gill arches that contain one or two rows of distinctive teeth. It has cycloid scales, but a scaleless head. There are 19 caudal rays, and the dorsal and anal fins are very short. The anal fin is closer to the middle of the body than to the caudal fin. Usually, it is a murky yellow on the dorsal side with a pale underside. There are two long, lateral stripes on the fish along the center of the body, and on the dorsal side of the fish.
Distribution and habitat
The blacknose shiner ranges from the Atlantic, Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River north to Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, south to Ohio, Illinois, south-central Missouri. It is more prevalent in the northern sections of its range, and seems to be disappearing in the southern portions. It lives typically in cool weedy creeks, small rivers, and lakes over sand.