Notropis chrosomus
| Rainbow shiner | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Notropis |
| Species: | N. chrosomus |
| Binomial name | |
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Notropis chrosomus (D. S. Jordan, 1877) |
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The rainbow shiner (Notropis chrosomus) is a North American species of ray-finned fish in the genus Notropis.
The rainbow shiner has a length of 5 to 8 centimeters. It has translucent color from pink to golden with a silver-black stripe along its flanks. The base of its fins are of a reddish color. Adult males change their color during the mating period. Their ventral fins become blue, their head turns purple and their nose turns red.
The rainbow shiner was originally endemic to the Mobile River system, where it can be found in small clear rivers of drainage areas of the Alabama, Coosa and Black Warrior rivers in particular. Now it also appears in some rivers in Tennessee and is a popular pet fish for aquariums and ponds.
The rainbow shiner spawns between May and June.
This species of fish is usually found in small streams along river drainages of Northwest Georgia, Northeastern Alabama, and as more recent research suggests, southwest Tennessee. N. chrosomus is a freshwater, benthopelagic fish that inhabits riffles and pools with gravelly bottoms in creeks and small rivers and are usually found accompanied by genera of Campostoma. They are mainly insectivorous and although studies show the predominate prey of N. chrosomus come from the family Chironomidae, they are found to be more opportunistic feeders and are not very selective. The maximum age is typically two years for both sexes and sexual maturity occurs at one year of age. N. chrosomus increase their food intake during the late winter and spring months before spawning in order to meet the increased energy needs for gamete production and sexual reproduction. Hybridization has been observed between N. baileyi and N. chrosomus in areas where N. chilitious populations have been introduced. There is limited information available pertaining to the current and past management of N. chrosomus. What is known, is that this species was once endemic to parts of northern Alabama and populations have spread further north to Tennessee within recent decades. The latitudinal movement northward may be of particular interest to researchers since N. chrosomus favors warmer waters.
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Wikipedia