Species profile
Red Shiner
Cyprinella lutrensis
At a glance
Red Shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species regulated in 2 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
Confirmed by 1,731 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Texas, Missouri, and Kansas the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- During breeding season, males turn a vivid red-orange with blue highlights on their sides.
- Breeding males develop small hard tubercles on their snout and head.
- Typically just 2–3 inches long, red shiners are widely used as bait fish across the U.S.
- Originally native to the Great Plains, red shiners are now invasive in many western states.
- They tolerate warm, murky, and low-oxygen water that many other minnows cannot survive.
Where Red Shiner are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Red Shiner
Background
The red shiner or red-horse minnow (Cyprinella lutrensis) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. They are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, and can grow to about three inches in length. For most of the year, both males and females have silver sides and whitish abdomens. Males in breeding coloration, though, have iridescent pink-purple-blue sides and a red…
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Red Shiner article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other bony fish on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.