Red Shiner
Cyprinella lutrensis
- Class
- Ray-finned fish
- Rarity
- Common
- Observations
- 1,221
- Most observed in
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
The red shiner or red-horse minnow (Cyprinella lutrensis) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, and can grow to about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in length. For most of the year, both males and females have silver sides and whitish abdomens. Males in breeding coloration, though, have iridescent pink-purple-blue sides and a red crown and fins (except the dorsal fin which remains dark). Red shiners can live up to three years. They are omnivorous; they eat both aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, as well as algae. Red shiners have also been known to eat the eggs and larvae of native fish found in locations where they have been introduced.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Red shiner”.