Shiner from Cape Fear River

The following shiner was caught from a small unnamed creek along the Cape Fear River Trail in Fayetteville, NC. It was caught and released not more then a 100 yards from the Cape Fear River. I have been pretty good with identifying Cyprinella analostana, Cyprinella nivea, Notropis amoenus, Notropis petersoni, and Notropis scepticus because those 5 are usually the main shiner species I encounter in the area. But this shiner kept throwing me for a loop, I would think I had it identified but then would notice something that made it look more like another species. One of the big things that were throwing me off were the black pigmentation between the rear dorsal rays, lateral line scale count, and ray counts for the anal and dorsal fin. I was wondering if it might be a hybrid or if Im just not examining it correctly. Below is a list of the Freshwater Carp and Minnow Species found in the entire Cape Fear River system according to the NC fish and game back in 2009. Many of the species listed are not even close to Fayetteville, but to go through and check the range of each species is more work then I'd like to do.
Clinostomus funduloides
Ctenopharyngodon idella
Cyprinella analostana
Cyprinella lutrensis
Cyprinella sp. cf. zanema
Cyprinus carpio
Cyprinella nivea
Hybognathus regius
Luxilus albeolus
Luxilus cerasinus
Lythrurus ardens
Nocomis leptocephalus
Nocomis raneyi
Notemigonus crysoleucas
Notropis alborus
Notropis altipinnis
Notropis amaenus
Notropis chalybaeus
Notropis chiliticus
Notropis cummingsae
Notropis hudsonius
Notropis maculatus
Notropis mekistocholas
Notropis petersoni
Notropis procne
Notropis scepticus
Phoxinus oreas
Pimephales promelas
Semotilus atromaculatus
Semotilus lumbee

satinfin, C. analostana

For anyone wondering, this is an ID quality photo. Good job.

In 2007 I sampled several sites along the Cape Fear River main stem and lower reaches of major tribs between Buckhorn Dam and Erwin in Chatham & Harnett counties, and collected the following minnows: (x = river, t = tribs).


Clinostomus funduloides Rosyside Dace t
Cyprinella analostana Satinfin Shiner x t
Cyprinella nivea Whitefin Shiner x t
Cyprinus carpio Common Carp x
Hybognathus regius Eastern Silvery Minnow x
Luxilus albeolus White Shiner x t
Nocomis leptocephalus Bluehead Chub x t
Notemigonus crysoleucas Golden Shiner t
Notropis altipinnis Highfin Shiner x t
Notropis amoenus Comely Shiner x
Notropis hudsonius Spottail Shiner x
Notropis mekistocholas Cape Fear Shiner x
Notropis petersoni Coastal Shiner t
Notropis procne Swallowtail Shiner x t
Notropis scepticus Sandbar Shiner x t
Semotilus atromaculatus Creek Chub t

Edited by gerald, 07 May 2013 - 10:24 AM.

Awesome thanks Gerald and thanks for the complament Skipjack. I'd really would like to figure out how to take high quality pictures like some of the ones are on this site that have no shadows, solid background, crisp detail, and all the fins are spread out. I have the hardest time with some species that just will not sit still. I think I need a glass walled photo tank with all but one side of it covered and well placed lights to provide the right lighting from all angles.
Thanks again and thanks for sharing that species list Gerald.

When the fish is swimming around in a deep (wide) tank, it's very difficult to get the entire fish in focus. In part this is because if you rely on natural light, there's usually not enough light to shoot at a high enough f-stop to have a nice broad depth of field. If you bring in studio lights you can get around this, but then you have the hassle of more stuff to haul, set up, and power. I've used a set of 250W lights run off an inverter and car battery combo. I don't do it often because it's a PIA.

By using a sheet of plexiglass to gently "pin" the fish against the front pane of glass or acrylic, you can get the whole fish on a plane that's perpindicular to the camera, so that you can get away with a narrower depth of field. A clear pinning plate also moves your backdrop out of your field so that shadows and the background are out of focus or out of frame. Getting the fins erect is always a challenge, one that I usually cheat on, kill the fish and use a quick dip in formalin to make them stay erect! Uland and others whisper sweet nothings at their fish, or poke and prod and shoot enough images to eventually get one with the fins up. To each their own...

There's a lot of info on the process buried in the forum here... and there's nothing saying that what I (or we) do is the end-all. I still learn a different trick almost every time I go out.