Home/Species/ Spottail Shiner

Hudsonius hudsonius

(Clinton, 1824)

Spottail Shiner

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Least concernIUCN

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.106145

Element CodeAFCJB28550

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVertebrate Animal

IUCNLeast concern

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumCraniata

ClassActinopterygii

OrderCypriniformes

FamilyLeuciscidae

GenusHudsonius

Synonyms

Notropis hudsonius(Clinton, 1824)

Other Common Names

Queue à tache noire (FR)

Concept Reference

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

Based on phylogenomic analyses, Stout et al. (2022) place this species in the genus Hudsonius. This generic change is accepted by Page et al. (2023). This is a highly variable species; much of morphological variation is clinal (see Lee et al. 1980).

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2015-08-18

Change Date1996-09-16

Range Extent Comments

One of the most widely ranging North American freshwater fishes (Lee et al. 1980). Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages from St. Lawrence River, Quebec, to Altamaha and upper Chattahoochee River, Georgia; Hudson Bay, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins from Ontario to Mackenzie River drainage (Arctic basin), Northwest Territories and Alberta, and south to northern Ohio, southern Illinois, and northeastern Montana; common, locally abundant (Page and Burr 1991).

Occurrences Comments

This species is represented by a large number of subpopulations and locations.

Threat Impact Comments

Localized threats may exist, but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Atlantic slope: large sluggish coastal rivers and brackish water to small clear rapidly flowing montane streams. Western populations: more closely restricted to large rivers and lakes, usually over sandy or rocky shallows with scant vegetation (Lee et al. 1980). Spawns in aggregations over areas of gravelly riffles near mouths of brooks, or along sandy shoals of lakeshores (Becker 1983).

Reproduction

Spawns in spring or early summer. Sexually mature in 1-2 years (Becker 1983)

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	S1	Yes
Northwest Territories	S4	Yes
Ontario	S5	Yes
Manitoba	S5	Yes
Quebec	S5	Yes
Alberta	S5	Yes
Saskatchewan	S5	Yes

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Vermont	S5	Yes
Montana	SNA	No
Ohio	S4	Yes
Iowa	SNR	Yes
North Dakota	SNR	Yes
North Carolina	S5	Yes
Georgia	S3	Yes
Illinois	S5	Yes
Kentucky	S2	Yes
Massachusetts	S4	Yes
Michigan	S5	Yes
Virginia	S5	Yes
New Hampshire	S4	Yes
South Carolina	S5	Yes
Rhode Island	S1	Yes
Idaho	SNA	No
Nebraska	SNA	No
Pennsylvania	S5	Yes
Missouri	SNR	Yes
Connecticut	S5	Yes
Maryland	S5	Yes
District of Columbia	S5	Yes
Minnesota	SNR	Yes
New York	S5	Yes
New Jersey	S5	Yes
Utah	SNA	No
Wisconsin	S5	Yes
Colorado	SNA	No
Indiana	S4	Yes
Maine	SNR	Yes
West Virginia	S4	Yes
South Dakota	S5	Yes
Delaware	S5	Yes
Wyoming	SNA	No

Roadless Areas (1)

Virginia (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mountain Lake Addition A	Jefferson National Forest	1,469

References (38)

Becker, G. C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1,052 pp.
Burr, Brooks M. (Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University) and Donovan B. Henry. 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. June 2000.
Cooper, E. L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park. 243 pp.
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Daniels, Robert (Biological Survey, New York State Museum). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. June 2000.
Fago, D. 2000. Relative abundance and distribution of fishes in Wisconsin. Fish Distribution Database to year 2000. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W. N. and R. van der Laan (eds). 2023. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: genera, species, references.(http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp). Electronic version 2023.
Harlan, J. R., E. B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew. 1987. Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323 pp.
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Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
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Menhinick, E. F. 1991. The freshwater fishes of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 227 pp.
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Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
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Shapiro, S. M. 1975. A bibliography of the spottail shiner, Notropis hudsonius (Clinton) (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Publication No. 43, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 47 pp.
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Stout, C., S. Schonhuth, R, Mayden, N.L. Garrison, and J.W. Armbruster. 2022. Phylogenomics and classification of Notropis and related shiners (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae) and the utility of exon capture on lower taxonomic groups. PeerJ, 10, p.e14072.
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Whittier, Thomas R. 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.