Cahaba shiner

The Cahaba shiner (Notropis cahabae) is a rare species of cyprinid fish. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it is limited to the Cahaba River. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Cahaba shiner
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Leuciscinae
Clade: Pogonichthyinae
Genus: Notropis
Species:
N. cahabae
Binomial name
Notropis cahabae
Mayden & Kuhajda, 1989

This fish was first described in 1989.[2] It is similar to its close relative, the Mimic Shiner (Notropis volucellus).[3] The Cahaba Shiner is about 2.5 inches long (6.35 centimeters). It is silver in color with a dark lateral stripe and a peach-colored lateral stripe above.[4]

This fish has been collected from about 76 miles of the Cahaba River, but as of the early 1990s its range had been reduced to about 60 miles of the river. Most individuals of the species are located in a 15-mile stretch of the waterway. It may have once occurred in the Coosa River, but if so, it has been extirpated from there. The reduction in range has been caused by the degradation of water quality in the river system, the result of urbanization and sedimentation.[4]

References
  1. NatureServe (2013). "Notropis cahabae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T14884A19032981. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T14884A19032981.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Mayden, Richard L. and Kuhajda, Bernard R.. (November 1989). Systematics of Notropis cahabae, a new cyprinid fish endemic to the Cahaba River of the Mobile Basin. Bulletin of the Alabama Museum of Natural History 9 1-16. icon of an open green padlock
  3. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Endangered status determined for the fish Notropis cahabae (Cahaba Shiner). Federal Register October 25, 1990.
  4. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Notropis cahabae Recovery Plan. April 1992.


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