Bridle shiner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bridle shiner |
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The bridle shiner (Notropis bifrenatus) is a small fish. It belongs to the minnow family, known as Cyprinidae. This fish is considered to be of Special Concern in Canada. This means experts are watching its numbers closely. They want to make sure it stays healthy in the wild.
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Where Do Bridle Shiners Live?
The bridle shiner lives in eastern North America. You can find it from eastern Lake Ontario all the way to Maine. Its range also stretches south to South Carolina. In Ontario, it lives in low-lying areas. These include places around eastern Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River. The largest group of bridle shiners lives near the Thousand Islands.
What Do Bridle Shiners Look Like?
Bridle shiners are small and thin fish. They are a bit flattened on their sides. An adult bridle shiner usually grows to about 50 millimeters (2 inches) long. Its snout is shorter than its eye. It has a small mouth at the very front of its head.
This fish has large scales. Its side is straw-colored and silvery on top. It has a cool green-blue shimmer. Its belly is silvery-white. A clear black stripe runs from its tail to its snout. Male bridle shiners grow tiny bumps on their head and fins during breeding season.
Where Do Bridle Shiners Hang Out?
Bridle shiners like calm parts of streams. Sometimes, they live in lakes too. They often hide among lots of underwater plants. The bottom of their home is usually soft silt or sand. They use the plants for safety, finding food, and laying eggs. They prefer clear water, but can live in slightly cloudy water.
What Do Bridle Shiners Eat?
The bridle shiner mostly eats tiny water creatures. These include zooplankton and small insect larvae. One common insect they eat is chironomids. They also eat a small amount of plant material.
What Threats Do Bridle Shiners Face?
Bridle shiners are part of the minnow family. This means bigger fish can hunt them. Fish like northern pike, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch might eat them.
This fish is sensitive to dirty water. It doesn't do well with cloudy water, especially near farms. Interestingly, in areas where zebra mussels have moved in, the water becomes clearer. This clearer water can actually help the bridle shiner. However, a plant called Eurasian watermilfoil can grow very thick. This plant makes it hard for bridle shiners to lay their eggs. This might cause their numbers to go down.
Which Fish Look Like Bridle Shiners?
Some other fish look similar to the bridle shiner. The sand shiner (Notropis stramineus) and mimic shiner (Notropis volucellus) are alike. But they do not have the strong black stripe that bridle shiners have.
The bridle shiner also looks a lot like other shiners with black lines. These include the pugnose shiner (Notropis anogenus), blackchin shiner (Notropis heterodon), and blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis). You can tell a bridle shiner apart because it doesn't have dark color on its lower jaw. Blacknose shiners also lack this color. But they have a mouth that points more downwards. They also usually have eight rays on their anal fin, while bridle shiners usually have seven.
