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Spottail shiner
Notropis hudsonius
Photo credit: Karsten
Hartel
Habitat requirements and life history:
The spottail shiner is a native fish that prefers clear headwater
streams and small rivers in pools and runs with a sand or
rock bottom. They feed on the larvae of aquatic and terrestrial
insects, molluscs, small crustaceans, and even small fish.
They spawn in the spring. There is no evidence of nest building.
The spottail is often used as bait and is an important forage
species for game fishes. (Sources:
Freshwater Fishes of New York State: A Field Guide and
Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, &
Delaware)
Total length: about
4 inches (a few > 5 inches)
Pollution tolerance (US EPA): Intermediate
tolerance
Classification:
Macrohabitat generalist
Number of fish found during 1954 &
2001 Fish Surveys*
| Location |
No. of Fish 1954 |
No. of Fish 2001 |
| Assabet River |
|
11 |
| Total |
0 |
11 |
*Data sources:
Schlotterbeck, L.C. and W.A. Tompkins, 1954. "A Fisheries
Investigation of the Merrimack and Ipswich River Drainages."
Bureau of Wildlife Research and Management, Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Game.
DFW, 2001. Assabet Watershed Fish Survey. MA Department of
Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA.
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