#28/179:
Common Shiner
Luxilus cornutus
Captured 10/20/20, Looking Glass River, MI near DeWitt, MI. Method: Electrofishing. Watershed: Lake Michigan (Grand R. watershed)
Notes: Common Shiners are not super exciting to look at. They're just kinda silver and look like a minnow. No wonder they got the name 'common'. The one way I can always tell a Common Shiner from most other minnows are the scales. They are distinctly diamond-shaped, and their sides look kind of like non-slip aluminum grating. I always tell my students--'Look for the X's'. If you see them, it's either a Common or Striped Shiner...but don't get me started on how to tell those two species apart. For those of you that are fish nerds like me, yes I did count the predorsal scales, and this is in fact a Common Shiner. So there.
Notes: Common Shiners are not super exciting to look at. They're just kinda silver and look like a minnow. No wonder they got the name 'common'. The one way I can always tell a Common Shiner from most other minnows are the scales. They are distinctly diamond-shaped, and their sides look kind of like non-slip aluminum grating. I always tell my students--'Look for the X's'. If you see them, it's either a Common or Striped Shiner...but don't get me started on how to tell those two species apart. For those of you that are fish nerds like me, yes I did count the predorsal scales, and this is in fact a Common Shiner. So there.
