Common Shiner Luxilus cornutus
This species was found at 515 bioassessment sites, 67 rapid fish bioassessment sites, 100 fisheries assessment sites, and 19 fisheries presence-only assessment sites. In total, it was collected at 654 distinct sites, or 44.4% of the 1472 total sites monitored by the bioassessment program. It is the 10th most commonly collected species.
The Common Shiner was collected in 1071 bioassessment sampling sessions and 298 fisheries assessment sessions. It was present in 67 rapid bioassessment sessions and 22 presence-only sessions.
The biological assessment program has collected a total of 104,663 individual Common Shiner specimens, ranking it the #6 most collected fish.
This cyprinid is robust with a stout body and is moderately compressed laterally. The body is olive-green with bluish reflections on the back and the sides, and the belly is silvery. Breeding males are tinted with pink over their whole body and have dusky dorsal and caudal fins. Common shiners are one of a few minnow species with dark pigmentation behind scattered scales, looking like some scales have been lost. The scales along the sides are elevated and appear diamond-shaped. A broad mid-dorsal stripe, along the top of the back, is subtended by 2 or 3 narrow, parallel stripes and is best seen by viewing the fish from above. The dorsal and pelvic fins have 8 rays, while the pectoral fins have 15 to 17, and the anal fin usually has 9 rays. A large, terminal mouth is nearly horizontal and has no barbel. Strongly hooked pharyngeal teeth on sturdy arches are arranged in a 2, 4-4, 2 formula.
HUC12 watersheds where this species has been found