Pallid shiner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pallid shiner |
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The pallid shiner (Hybopsis amnis) is a small, silvery freshwater fish. It belongs to the minnow family, called Cyprinidae. This fish is found in North America, mainly in the Mississippi River basin. It's quite rare in the northern parts of its home, but more common in the south. Scientists first found the pallid shiner in the early 1900s. Its numbers have been going down since then. We don't know much about what they eat or how they have babies.
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What Does the Pallid Shiner Look Like?
The pallid shiner is a small, silver fish. It has very little color on its body. Its body shape is like a torpedo, which helps it swim fast. Like most fish, it is flat on its sides. The only mark on its body is a thin stripe. This stripe goes from its head all the way to its tail.
Its body is covered in round scales called cycloid scales. The fish has a mouth that points slightly downwards. It does not have an adipose fin, which is a small, fleshy fin found on some fish. Like other minnows, the pallid shiner has no teeth in its mouth and no stomach. Instead, it chews its food using special parts called gill rakers and pharyngeal teeth located in its throat.
The tail fin of the pallid shiner is white and shaped like a fork. It has pointed tips. The fin on its back, called the dorsal fin, is tall. It has eight soft rays, which are like flexible bones. The fins on its belly, called pelvic fins, are located near its stomach area.
Where Do Pallid Shiners Live?
Today, you can find the pallid shiner in the Mississippi River basin. This area stretches from southern Wisconsin and Minnesota all the way to Louisiana. More exactly, they live in the Mississippi valley. Their northern range goes up to the St. Croix river in Minnesota and Wisconsin. To the south, they can be found in the Amite river in Louisiana. They also live west to the Guadalupe river in Texas.
As mentioned, the pallid shiner is very rare in the northern parts of its range. However, there are many more of them in the southern areas. In the past, the pallid shiner was common in Missouri. But its populations there have greatly decreased.
Pallid Shiner's Home
Pallid shiners live in many rivers. These rivers are usually medium to large in size. They can also be found downstream from sand and gravel bars in smaller streams. These fish like slow-moving and quiet waters. They prefer areas with sandy or silty bottoms.
Human activities near rivers have caused more dirt and sand to build up. This is called sedimentation. Sedimentation has become a bigger problem for the pallid shiners. It affects their preferred habitat.
Protecting the Pallid Shiner
The pallid shiner is currently listed as a species of "least concern." This means that even though its numbers and where it lives have shrunk, there are still many groups of them. Their overall population has not dropped too much.
Not long ago, people thought the pallid shiner had completely disappeared from Illinois. But then, it was found again in the Kankakee River. The fish has been affected by sedimentation. This is when too much dirt and sand build up in the rivers. Increased human activity in their river homes also causes problems for them.
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In Spanish: Hybopsis amnis para niños
