Iowa DNR
BioNet
River & Stream Biological Monitoring
Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
Physical Habitat Assessments

Bluntnose Minnow Pimephales notatus

Family
Cyprinidae (Minnows)
Tolerance
Tolerant
Trophic Class
Omnivore
Is Exotic to Iowa?
False
Is Lithophilous Spawner?
False
Is Hybrid?
False
State Listing Status
Not Listed
Assessment Program Statistics

This species was found at 658 bioassessment sites, 111 rapid fish bioassessment sites, 128 fisheries assessment sites, and 19 fisheries presence-only assessment sites. In total, it was collected at 847 distinct sites, or 58.8% of the 1441 total sites monitored by the bioassessment program. It is the 5th most commonly collected species.

The Bluntnose Minnow was collected in 1427 bioassessment sampling sessions and 325 fisheries assessment sessions. It was present in 111 rapid bioassessment sessions and 22 presence-only sessions.

The biological assessment program has collected a total of 126,377 individual Bluntnose Minnow specimens, ranking it the #2 most collected fish.

Species Characteristics

This minnow has a stout, slender body. Olive-straw body, overlaid with silvery on the back, shading to silvery-white on the belly. A distinctive character is the prominent lateral band, which surrounds the snout and lower jaw giving rise to the common name. This band also passes through the eye and along the body to the caudal fin. The terminal mouth has an oblique angle and no barbell. Strongly hooked pharyngeal teeth, with well developed cutting edges, are arranged in a pattern of 1, 4-4, 1. Dorsal, anal and pelvic fins have 8 rays and the pectoral fins have 12-14 rays. The lateral line has 36 scales, but not all have pores. These are scales on the breast in front of the pectoral fins.

Species Distribution Maps

HUC12 watersheds where this species has been found