LAMPREYS AND FISHES 



are common fishes very little has been written about their 

 spawning habits. 



Size. — 3 inches. 



Distrihutio7i. — New England to Minnesota, southward to 

 Oklahoma; very common. 



Fig, 275. — Common shiner, Notropis cornutus. 



Common shiner, redfin, Notropis cornutus. — Shiners (Fig. 

 275) are abundant in most brooks and creeks whether they 

 are warm ones or cold. Several of the silvery hued minnows 

 are called shiners but the true one is the common shiner or 

 redfin, known as the shiner to fishermen, who use it for black 

 bass bait. It is about five inches long and has a deep, com- 

 pressed body whose sides are covered by diamond-shaped 

 scales. Its back is olive green, the rest of the body silvery 

 white. In the breeding season the fins of the male are bordered 

 with red, its back is iridescent blue, and its sides are rainbow 

 hued. At this time little horny cones appear on its head, 

 giving it the names "horny head" and buck fish. 



Redfins spawn during May and June. A single pair or 

 often a small school of a single male and several females 

 assemble in a riffle 6 to 8 inches deep. The nest is a basin- 

 shaped clearing in the gravelly bottom, about a foot in diame- 

 ter and a couple of inches deep. According to one observation 

 of Dr. G. C. Embody, just as soon as the eggs were dropped 

 to the bottom they were sought as food by other dace, which 

 wedged their bodies in between stones in pursuit of them. 



Size. — Up to 8 inches. 



n "^ C 



