Bluehead shiner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bluehead shiner |
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Notropis hubbsi Bailey & Robison, 1978 |
The bluehead shiner (Pteronotropis hubbsi) is a small fish that belongs to the carp family. It is a type of minnow. This fish lives only in the central United States. You can find it in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. It used to live in Illinois too, but it's not found there anymore.
In 2014, scientists changed its protection status. It went from "Data Deficient" (meaning not enough information) to "Near Threatened". This means it's close to becoming endangered. The bluehead shiner is threatened by things like swamps being drained or filled. Farming and floods also harm its home. People collecting too many for aquariums is another problem.
What Does It Look Like?
This minnow can grow up to about 60 millimeters long. That's about 2.4 inches. Its back is a reddish-orange color. Its belly is lighter. The fish has a black chin. The top of its head is blue with a green shimmer. This shimmer is called iridescence.
Bigger male bluehead shiners also have some shimmer on their dark top fin. There is a wide, dark stripe along its side. This stripe goes from its chin all the way to its tail. Its mouth points upwards. The line along its side, called the lateral line, is not complete.
The bluehead shiner is very similar to another fish called the Bluenose shiner. These two fish are closely related.
Where Does It Live?
This fish lives in several rivers that flow into the Mississippi River. These include the Ouachita River and the Atchafalaya River. As mentioned, it hasn't been seen in Illinois since the 1970s. This means it has probably disappeared from that area.
The bluehead shiner likes slow-moving water. It also lives in still water in swamps. It prefers muddy or sandy places with lots of plants. These plants give it good hiding spots.
How Does It Live?
Male and female bluehead shiners look different. This is called sexual dimorphism. Females do not have the shiny blue color that males do. Males also change their look as they get older.
When a male is young, it's small. It has a shiny blue head and fins. This is called its "non-flag" or "initial" phase. The next year, it enters its "flag" or "terminal" phase. In this phase, the male is bigger. It has dark stripes on its sides. Its blue color also starts to fade.
The older, "terminal" males are quite aggressive. They like to protect their own space, called a territory. Female bluehead shiners can have babies when they are one year old. They lay eggs from May to July. They probably lay eggs many times during this period.
The eggs are yellow-orange and about 1.2 millimeters wide. They stick to surfaces in the water. Scientists have not yet seen them lay eggs in nature. Sometimes, these minnows share nesting spots with sunfishes. One example is the warmouth fish. The male bluehead shiner might even help protect the nest.
Most bluehead shiners live for less than two years.
What Do They Eat?
Adult bluehead shiners mainly eat tiny crustaceans. These are small water animals like water fleas and copepods. They also eat larvae of chironomid flyes. Young minnows might also eat rotifers, nematodes, diatoms, and algae.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2014). "Pteronotropis hubbsi" in FishBase. 01 2014 version.
See also
In Spanish: Pteronotropis hubbsi para niños
