Distribution in local area:
Cannon Lake, Kamaniskeg Lake,
Lavellee Lake, Watt Lake, Weslemkoon Lake, Wollaston
Lake,
Name:
Notemigonus, from the Greek,
"angled back"
crysoleucas, from the Greek, "golden white"
Common Name from the characteristic golden sheen of
the adult
Other common names include: Bream, Butterfish, Chub,
Dace, Goldfish, Roach, Shad Roach, Sunfish, Méné
Jaune (Qué)
Taxonomy:
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Teleostei
Superorder Ostariophysi
Order Cypriniformes, minnows and suckers
Family Cyprinidae, carps and minnows
Genus Notemigonus, the golden shiners
Description:
A relatively large, deep-bodied
minnow.
Length:
can exceed 10"
seldom more than 8", with most adults less than
6" long
females grow faster and larger than males
Coloration:
dark green above
olive sides
brassy belly
distinctive golden sheen
young silvery with a dusky band along the side, fading
with age as the fish takes on a golden color.
Body:
deep and compressed laterally
covered with large, rather loosely attached gold or
silver scales.
complete lateral line of 45-52 scales, strongly curved
below center line
dorsal fin of 8 rays, set behind the pelvic fin
pelvic fins of 9 rays
pectoral fins of 15-17 rays
long anal fin of 11-13 rays, distinctly falcate shaped
no scales covering the belly ridge
Head:
mouth small, terminal, and oblique
jaw does not extend to the eye or have a barbel
strongly hooked pharyngeal teeth, on slender arches,
in a 5-5 pattern
Lifespan:
mature at 2-3 years of age
maximum recorded is 9 years
Young differ significantly from adults, being silvery,
not as slab-sided, and having a distinct lateral stripe
from eye to tail fin.
Identification:
Field Marks
lateral line strongly curved below the center line
long anal fin of 11-13 rays, falcate
no scales covering the belly ridge between the pelvic
fins and anus
Habitat:
Clear, weedy, quiet, shallows
of lakes, ponds, and occasionally rivers. Easily adapting
to muddy water, they prefer relatively clear, vegetated
areas.
Found in large schools around submerged structures where
they feed primarily on zooplankton.
Food:
Filter feeders, plankton make
up a significant portion of the diet, but aquatic insects,
molluscs, and aquatic vegetation are also consumed.
Young feed primarily on plankton.
Important as forage for more popular game fish.
Uses:
Excellent, commonly used bait
fish. Its bright, flashing appearance has made it popular
with anglers.
Used extensively in fisheries resource management programs
as forage fish.
Larger specimens occasionally caught by anglers on worms
or lures while fishing for panfish.
Reproduction:
Spawns
over an extended period from May to July. During the
breeding season, the male exhibits a brilliant golden
glow on his body and fins.
Females deposit up to 4,000 adhesive eggs over filamentous
algae and submerged weed beds. After spawning, the eggs
are abandoned.
Occasionally, eggs are deposited into the nest of a
Largemouth Bass or some other centrarchid while the
male centrarchid is still guarding the nest . This special
behavior assures greater hatching success for the golden
shiner eggs.
Eggs hatch in 3-4 days at 17-21 C. Newly hatched larvae
remain on the bottom of the nesting area until the yolk
sac is absorbed. Once the larvae are able to swim, they
are found near the surface or periphery of the littoral
zone.
Larvae school with their own species or with centrarchid
larvae, feeding on small insects, cladocerans, and zooplankton.
Young fish grow to a length of 4 inches during their
first year.
Mature at age 1-3
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