Fish
Common Shiner
Luxilus cornutus · also called common shiners
Over a stretch of gravel a creek chub built and not the common shiner spawning above it, a breeding male shiner flushes a vivid rosy pink along his sides, small horn-like tubercles on his head ready for the crowded spawning rush about to unfold.
Overview
The common shiner, Luxilus cornutus, is an abundant, widespread minnow native to clear streams and rivers across eastern North America. Its vivid rosy-pink breeding colouration and habit of spawning over other species’ nest mounds make it one of the more visually striking and behaviourally opportunistic small fish in its range.
An ordinary minnow with an extraordinary breeding display
Most of the year, the common shiner blends in as just another small stream fish, but for a few weeks each spring, breeding males transform into one of the more genuinely colourful sights any North American stream has to offer.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and abundant across suitable stream and river habitat throughout eastern North America.
Common Shiner: common questions
Why do male common shiners turn pink during breeding season?
A breeding male common shiner develops a vivid rosy-pink flush along the sides of its body, a striking seasonal colour display used to attract females and signal fitness to rival males, a transformation intense enough to make the common shiner one of the more visually dramatic widespread minnows in eastern North America during the spring spawning period.
What are the bumps on a breeding male common shiner's head?
A breeding male common shiner grows small, hardened bumps called nuptial tubercles on the head, used during physical interactions with other males and females during spawning, a feature shared broadly among many minnow species during their own breeding seasons.
Does the common shiner build its own nest?
Not always — a common shiner will sometimes spawn over the gravel nest mounds built by other minnow species, such as the creek chub, taking advantage of a nest already constructed rather than building one of its own, a behaviour shared with several other minnow species that exploit the same nesting effort.
Where does the common shiner live?
The common shiner is native to clear streams and rivers across a broad range of eastern North America, ranking among the most widespread and abundant minnow species found throughout the region.