Blacktail Shiner, Cyprinella venusta

Blacktail Shiner, Cyprinella venusta. Fish caught from the South Llano River, South Llano State Park, Junction, Texas, April 2024. Length: 12 cm (4.8 inches). Catch, photograph and  identification of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Blacktail Shiner, Cyprinella venusta. Fish caught from the Enitachopco Creek, Alexander City, Alabama, September 2023. Length: 9.3 cm (3.7 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Blacktail Shiner, Cyprinella venusta, is a member of the Carp and True Minnow or Cyprinidae Family, and is known in Mexico as carpa roja. Globally, there are thirty-two species in the genus Cyprinella, of which eight are widespread throughout Mexico’s freshwater systems.

The Blacktail Shiner can be either diamond shaped or long and thin. Their head is dark in the front and back areas and their back is an yellowish-olive that transitions to silvery with blue tinges ventrally. They have a prominent black spot at the base of the caudal fin. They have a dark band along the dorsal profile, and they have a faint dark halo around the eyes. Their head is small with a rounded profile with small eyes and a small oblique mouth. They have 8 or 9 anal fin rays. They are covered with scales that vary in size.

The Blacktail Shiner are found in pools and runs of clear, sandy-bottomed, small to medium rivers, typically in areas with sparse vegetation and strong current; upland populations occur in creeks over substrates with more gravel and rubble. They reach a maximum of 19 cm (7.5 inches) in length. They feed on a wide variety of aquatic insects. The Blacktail Shiner is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Blacktail Shiner are found within the freshwater Atlantic drainage of the Río Grande River in Northwest Mexico in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Veracruz.

The Blacktail Shiner, due to its markings, is a straightforward identification.

From a conservation perspective the Blacktail Shiner is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. However, in Mexico they are currently listed as Threatened. They have been widely introduced in several states within the United States and quickly become highly invasive. They are utilized as a live bait and also by the aquarium trade.