Shiner (?) in central Missouri

I've been using Pflieger's The Fishes of Missouri, and I'm still stumped on this one.

I caught this fish while microfishing in Hinkson Creek (a small stream that runs through Columbia, Missouri....I believe it dumps into Perche Creek a couple miles before Perche Creek dumps into the Missouri River).

The two individuals I caught were from a shallow riffle.

I have caught Common Shiner and Red Shiner in this creek a few miles downstream of this location, but I can't convince myself it's either of those.

Based on my book, the following minnows are possible, but I've ruled them out: Golden Shiner, Creek Chub, Silver Chub, Suckermouth Minnow, Ghost Shiner, Western Silvery Minnow, Plains Minnow, Bluntnose Minnow, Fathead Minnow, and Central Stoneroller

These are the ones I'm still considering: Common Shiner, Red Shiner, Redfin Shiner, Emerald Shiner, Bigmouth Shiner, Sand Shiner.

So....am I on the right track or have I eliminated something I should be taking another look at?

Here are a few photos:

It looks like one of the true Notropis shiners, not a Luxilus, Lythrurus or Cyprinella, and its not an emerald (which has dorsal fin farther back behind pelvics), so based on your list i think the last two choices are possibilities: sand or bigmouth. Dont know if there may be others you havent listed. Loks like 7 or maybe 8 anal fin rays - that should help narrow it.

Thanks for the reply! I was starting to zero in on Sand Shiner over Bigmouth for a couple reasons: 7 anal fin rays (seen better in another photo I don't have online), and the length of the upper jaw is only about 2/3 the diameter of the eye (measured in Photoshop).

Looks like a sand shiner to me.

Kudos to you!

This is a great ID thread, a person who actually has decent photos, and even tried to make an EDUCATED attempt to ID it.

Great job at narrowing it down...I sure suck at Notropis IDs

I'm very big on IDing just about every vertebrate I encounter....and these minnows are giving me a run for my money! I come from a birding background, and I'd guess minnows are the birding equivalent of Calidris sp. sandpipers; frustrating and fun at the same time.

At least I get to have the minnows in hand instead of a quarter-mile away like the sandpipers!