Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis
Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, Female. Fish caught from a small creek in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, August 2018. Length: 5.4 cm (2.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, Breeding Male. Fish caught from a small creek in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, August 2020. Length: 7.4 cm (2.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, Breeding Male. Fish caught from Sandy Creek, Henry, Illinois, August 2014. Length: 8.1 cm (3.2 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.
Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, Breeding Male. Fish caught from Sandy Creek, Henry, Illinois, August 2014. Length: 9.0 cm (3.5 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.
Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, Breeding Male. Fish caught from Sandy Creek, Henry, Illinois, August 2014. Length: 9.0 cm (3.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).
The Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis, is a member of the Carp and Minnow or Cyprinidae Family, and is known in Mexico as carpita roja. Globally, there are thirty-two species in the genus Cyprinella, of which eight are widespread throughout Mexico’s freshwater systems.
The Red Shiner has a deep, wide, and laterally compressed body that are deepest anterior of the dorsal fin origin. They are olive green dorsally transitioning to silvery on their sides and to white ventrally. When breeding, males have iridescent pink-purple-blue sides, a red crown, and red tips on all their fins except for the dorsal fin. Their head is sharp and compressed with small eyes and a terminal to slightly sub-terminal mouth. Males have a sharply pointed snout that overhangs their mouth. Their anal fin has 8 to 10 rays; their caudal peduncle is wide; their caudal fin is concave; their dorsal fin has 8 rays; and their pelvic fins have 8 rays.
The Red Shiner is a non-migrant mid-water schooling freshwater species found in a wide variety of aquatic habitats, including backwaters, creek mouths, streams containing sand and silt, riffles, and pools. They are small dimorphic fish that reach a maximum of 9.0 cm (3.5 inches) in length with females being larger than males. They are tolerant of high turbidity, siltation, and temperatures up to 35oC (96oF). They feed on terrestrial and aquatic insects and algae. Spawning occurs in tranquil waters with males selecting the location and protecting it. Females are known to produce sounds to attract males. Reproduction is seasonal and occurs via broadcasting into crevices; sticky eggs attach themselves to rocks and vegetation. Each female can release up to 16 batches of eggs per day with 10 to 70 eggs per batch and about 6,000 eggs released annually. They have a lifespan of up to three years.
The Red Shiner is are fairly widespread and is a resident of all freshwater systems of northern mainland Mexico.
The Red Shiner can be easily confused with the Blacktail Shiner, Cyprinella venusta (narrower body; distinct caudal spot), the Plateau Shiner, Cyprinella lepida (breeding male with green back, yellow-purple sides, gold-orange head, and yellow-orange fins), the Proserpine Shiner, Cyprinella proserpina (black stripe on sides; black stripe on chin and throat), and the Rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus (dorsal fin inserted toward the rear of the body).
From a conservation perspective the Red Shiner is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable widely distributed populations. They are highly invasive and widespread with populations in excess of 1 million. They have widely spread due to human intervention via aquarium releases, bait bucket releases, introduction as forage fish, and farm escapes. They are known to devastate local populations via consumption of food sources, consumption of eggs and larvae of native fish, hybridization with Blacktail and Blue Shiners, and introduction of tapeworms. Efforts to eradicate this species from several bodies of water have proven very difficult. They are often used as bait fish and is also a component of the aquarium trade.