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Pteronotropis merlini (Suttkus & Mettee, 2001) Orangetail shiner |
| Family: | Leuciscidae (Minnows), subfamily: Pogonichthyinae | |||
| Max. size: | 5.4 cm SL (male/unsexed); 4.5 cm SL (female) | |||
| Environment: | pelagic; freshwater | |||
| Distribution: | North America: Choctawhatchee River system above confluence with Pea River in Alabama, USA. | |||
| Diagnosis: | Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-9; Anal soft rays: 8-11; Vertebrae: 36-38. Body very deep. Caudal fin and most of the anal fin on nuptial males are bright orange. Nuptial males have a chevron or lunate-shaped blotch of dark pigment slightly separated from the posterior end of the dark lateral band. Anterior rays of dorsal fin fall short of the tips of the posterior rays in the depressed fin (Ref. 40813). | |||
| Biology: | Inhabits sand-bottomed and silt-bottomed pools and runs of headwaters, creeks and small rivers, usually along undercut banks and debris (Ref. 86798). Occurs in reduced current, under overhanging vegetation or an overhanging bank, around stumps or roots, or occasionally under floating debris caught on snags or trailing brush of Smilax or Vitis vines (Ref. 40813). | |||
| IUCN Red List Status: | Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 04 August 2012 Ref. (130435) | |||
| Threat to humans: | harmless | |||
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