About the Blackmouth Shiner Fish

Habitat and Range

• The blackmouth shiner only lives in the southeastern region of the United States. Prior to 2003, the only known blackmouth shiner populations were in southern Mississippi -- Pascagoula, Chickasawhay and Lower Black Creek rivers -- and in 21 sites in the Florida Panhandle. However, an isolated population of blackmouth shiners was discovered in southern Alabama's Bay Minnette Creek during 2003. Blackmouth shiners are freshwater fish and primarily live in brackish waters and slow-moving rivers.

Status

• The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, lists the blackmouth shiner as vulnerable. The two primary threats for the blackmouth shiner's existence are its short life span and the fact that many of the fish's populations live in ephemeral habitats. Ephemeral habitats are environments that only exist during certain parts of the year. For example, some creeks only have water during the winter, but are dry in the summer. Also, blackmouth shiners face the possibility of urban or agricultural development near some of their nesting sites. In Florida, the construction of offline surface water supply reservoirs presents a threat to blackmouth shiner populations.

Physical Characteristics

• Blackmouth shiners are slender fish with large eyes and light stripes running from their mouths to their caudal fins, or tail. The light stripe is right above the fish's lateral line, a sensory organ that helps blackmouth shiners detect movement and vibration. Blackmouth shiners receive their name from the dark pigmentation around their mouth. These fish are one of the smallest shiner species in the United States. As adults, blackmouth shiners are less than 2 inches. Blackmouth shiners are also known as ray fish, meaning their bones or spines support their fins.

Life Cycle and Habits

• The average life span of blackmouth shiners ranges from one to two years. For reproduction, female blackmouth shiners lay approximately 60 to 70 eggs. When mature, these fish gather in schools and swim in underwater vegetation. A blackmouth shiner's diet primarily consists of plankton. Most blackmouth shiner populations spend their time near schools of brook silverside fish (Labidesthes sicculus). Larger populations exist in Florida than Mississippi because many of the Magnolia State's populations live in ephemeral areas.