Occurrence of the Brook Silverside, Labidesthes sicculus 

 (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae), in North Carolina 



Mary L. Moser 



Center for Marine Science Research 



7205 Wrightsville Avenue 



Wilmington, NC 28403 



Fred C. Rohde 



North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries 



127 Cardinal Drive Extension 



Wilmington, NC 28405-3845 



Rudolf G. Arndt 



Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics 



The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey 



Pomona, NJ 08240 



and 



Keith W. Ashley 



North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 



102 Hillcrest Drive 



Elizabethtown, NC 28337 



ABSTRACT- The brook silverside has never been reported from 

 Atlantic slope drainages north of the Santee River in South Carolina. 

 We collected 42 specimens at 6 sites in the Waccamaw River drainage 

 in North and South Carolina and 26 specimens at 5 sites in the Lynches 

 River, South Carolina. We also report the collection of five specimens 

 from the Lumber River and four from the Cape Fear River in North 

 Carolina. Extensive sampling from 1961-1992 in the Waccamaw River 

 drainage failed to collect this species. Therefore, we propose that the 

 brook silverside has expanded its range northward on the Atlantic slope. 



The brook silverside, Labidesthes sicculus (Cope), occurs in the St. 

 Lawrence River drainage and southern Great Lakes tributaries, the Mississippi 

 River basin, and Atlantic and Gulf drainages from the Santee River in South Car- 



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