sharply downward toward the belly, and there is a fleshy, scalelcss 

 keel on the belly, back of the pelvic fins. The youni; are a clear, 

 greenish brown above, sometimes with a faint line along the mid- 

 dle of the back and a dark line along the side. As the fish gets 

 older this color changes toward a solid and brilliant golden color. 



Size. The maximum length of the adult fish in Michigan is 

 about 250 mm., the average length nearer 150 mm. 



Habitat. The weedy shallows of lakes and river bays. \'ery 

 abundant in some of our sewage-polluted streams. 



Breeding Habits. Not well known. The eggs arc to be found 

 adhering to water plant stems and roots and among algae, accord- 

 ing to various reports. 



Food. Almost anything animal or vegetable, but the prefer- 

 ence is for water fleas and other small crustaceans. 



The golden shiner is an attractive aquarium fish, but its fond- 

 ness for all sorts of plant and animal food, including small fishes, 

 makes it necessary to keep this species by itself as soon as it reaches 

 several inches in length. 



Northern Redfin Shiner 

 (Notropis umbratilis cyatioccphalus) 



Appearance. The body is strongly compressed and deep, partic- 

 ularly in larger fish. The scales are large, darkened at the edges, 

 but is more slab sided. The color is dark blue to purple along the 

 back. The sides are smoky greenish blue fading out to a pale smoky 

 green on the belly. A dark band starts at the base of the tail and 

 runs forward, getting fainter until it disappears. There is a dark 



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