Beautiful Shiner

Beautiful Shiner
Beautiful Shiner
juvenile
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Cyprinella
Species: C. formosa
Binomial name
Cyprinella formosa
(Girard, 1856)

The Beautiful Shiner (Cyprinella formosa) is a species of ray-finned fish in the Cyprinidae family. It is found in Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. It is one of 22 species of Cyprinidae that live in North America.

Contents

Description

The beautiful shiner is one of the smaller species of Arizona native fish, reaching lengths of only 3.5 inches. They have pointed snouts with compressed heads and bodies, giving them a very slender appearance. Their lateral lines are slightly curved with 30 to 40 small scales. Shiners also have a lower number of fin rays, which can distinguish them from longfin daces or suckers. The dorsal and pelvic fins have only 8 fin rays, with anal fin rays ranging from 8 to 9. Shiners have pharyngeal teeth than line up in single lines inside their mouths, which also make them easily distinguishable. Coloration patterns include either orange or bright red bodies, with silvery gray lateral lines along their scales. Melanophores line the dorsal portions, giving them the opportunity to change colors while mating. During mating, the males will turn their caudal fins yellow or orange, for certain unknown sexually selective reasons. Males can sometimes have either bluish or red heads.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]

Distribution in Arizona

Shiners are typically found in the waters of Cochise County and San Bernardino Creek. They were extirpated from the United States for a brief period during 1969-70, however they have recently been reintroduced to Arizona and other regions of the Southwest. The San Bernardino Wildlife Refuge has been fighting for the recovery of this threatened species by reintroducing it into various ponds around Cochise County. After the reintroduction in 1990, the Beautiful Shiner has made its way from Cochise County to Southern parts of Sonora and Mexico, traveling to the Santa Maria and Santa Clara drainages to spawn. This species can also be found Rio Yaqui and Mimbres Rivers. They have a stricter range in elevation, being found only in rivers between 2600 and 5600 feet, and they are restricted to Riparian biotic communities.

Habitat

The more preferred habitat is sandy, rocky-bottomed streams of smaller sizes. Attempts have been made to reintroduce the species into man-made ponds; some successful recoveries of populations have been noted and some unsuccessful. The largest populations have been found in smaller riffles in the Yaqui River, as well as smaller tributaries within Cochise County. Smaller eddies and riffles are preferred, because of the greater number of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates can be found for feeding. Although this species eats primarily invertebrates, it is considered omnivorous as it also feeds on detritus.

Reproduction

The knowledge about the reproduction patterns of this species is limited. Federal law protects members of the endangered or threatened species, making it difficult to legally catch or study them. Shiners will spread their eggs over aquatic vegetation or brush in attempt to hide them from predators. They also prefer warmer waters during copulation, mating only between the months of May and July.

Conservation and Biology

Shiners live in a highly volatile environment. Their predators include garter snakes, bullfrogs, and other non-native fish, resulting in extra energy spent hiding their eggs during spawning. The introduction of non-native green sunfish and bullfrogs has contributed largely to a decline in fitness, because these other animals are outcompeting this species for habitat. Arizona placed the Beautiful Shiner on the Endangered species list in 1988, and little has been done to recover their numbers. Aquifer pumping, reduction in stream flows, and predation from non-native green sunfish, are all major contributing factors to the decline of the species according to Nature Serve (2002). The San Bernardino Ranch has current plans to populate the area, and other projects involve federal habitat preservation. The Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center has had the most success, because they have developed an effective method for reintroducing the species, and providing the criteria for spawning.

References

  1. ^ Abarca, F.J. 1991. Nongame field notes; Yaqui shiner in Arizona Wildlife Views 11/91. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. p. 18.
  2. ^ Arizona Game and Fish Department. 1988. Threatened Native Wildlife in Arizona. p. 5.
  3. ^ Arizona Game and Fish Department. In prep. Wildlife of special concern in Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department Publication. Phoenix, Arizona. 32 pp.
  4. ^ Girard, C. 1856. Researches upon the cyprinoid fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the United States of America, west of the Mississippi Valley, from specimens in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, 8:165-213.
  5. ^ Mayden, R.L. 1989. Phylogenetic studies of North American minnows, with emphasis on the genus Cyprinella (Teleostei: Cypriniformes). University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous publication No. 80. pp. 55-57.
  6. ^ Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. p. 293.
  7. ^ Hendrickson, D.A. et al. 1980. Fishes of the Rio Yaqui Basin, Mexico and United States. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 15(3):74-75.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Beautiful - The Remix Album — Infobox Album | Name = Beautiful The Remix Album Type = Remix album Artist = Blondie Released = 1995, 1999 Recorded = Compilation Genre = House music Techno Length = Label = Chrysalis/EMI Records flagicon|UK Disky flagicon|Netherlands Producer =… …   Wikipedia

  • Cyprinella — Satinfin shiners Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii …   Wikipedia

  • Dexter National Fish Hatchery & Technology Center — The Dexter National Fish Hatchery Technology Center is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility dedicated to fish culture techniques for threatened and endangered fishes of the American Southwest. Located in Dexter, New Mexico, it is the only… …   Wikipedia

  • Cyprinella — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda ? Carpitas Juvenil de carpita yaqui (Cyprinella formosa) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Prix Locus de la meilleure nouvelle courte — Les prix Locus sont décernés chaque année, depuis 1971, par les lecteurs du magazine américain mensuel de science fiction Locus lors de la Westercons qui se déroule le quatrième week end de juillet. La catégorie de la meilleure nouvelle courte… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of endangered animal species — This is a list of endangered animal species according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List. The list includes endangered species of the kingdom Animalia. NOTOC A* Acheilognathus elongatus * Acipenser Endangered * Acrocephalus… …   Wikipedia

  • Prix Locus de la meilleure nouvelle longue — Les prix Locus sont décernés chaque année, depuis 1971, par les lecteurs du magazine américain mensuel de science fiction Locus lors de la Westercons qui se déroule le quatrième week end de juillet. La catégorie de la meilleure nouvelle longue… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anna Laetitia Barbauld — [ right|thumb|Wedgwood cameo of Barbauld from 1775] Anna Laetitia Barbauld (pronEng|bɑrˈbɔld, by herself possibly IPA| [bɑrˈbo] , as in French) ( née Aikin) (20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent eighteenth century English poet, essayist,… …   Wikipedia

  • Christian Calson — (born Claudiu Cristian Caldărescu on 13 January 1975 in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian born American independent filmmaker best known for his use of anti film and shock cinema techniques. Contents …   Wikipedia

  • Old Kingdom (book series) — The Old Kingdom series (also known as the Abhorsen series in North America) is a trilogy of books by Garth Nix. It begins with Sabriel, followed by Lirael and Abhorsen. In addition, a novella set after the trilogy entitled Nicholas Sayre and the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”