Arkansas River Shiner (Notropis girardi)
(Federally listed as Threatened)
Description: This is a small streamlined minnow that rarely
exceeds 2.5 inches in length. The upper body color is a very
light tan, and the sides and belly are a silvery white. There is
a small, dark chevron-shaped marking at the base of the tail
fin. This species lives in schools and feeds on small aquatic
insects and invertebrates.
Habitat: The Arkansas River Shiner inhabits the shallow braided
channels of wide sandy prairie rivers in the Arkansas River
system. Schools of shiners often gather on the lee side of
sandbars and ridges of sand it the river channel. They spawn
after heavy summer rains and their eggs drift with the water
current and develop as they are carried downstream.
Current and Historic Distribution: At the present time, nearly
all of the remaining Arkansas River Shiners occur in the
Canadian River in Oklahoma, western Texas and eastern New
Mexico. A small population may persist in the Cimarron River in
Oklahoma, and an isolated population occurs in the Pecos River
in southwestern Texas where they were accidentally introduced.
Historically, the Arkansas River Shiner occupied all of the
major river tributaries to the Arkansas River in the Great
Plains including the Cimarron, North Canadian and Canadian
rivers as well as the Arkansas River itself.
Reasons for Decline: Since the 1950s, the Arkansas River Shiner
has decline dramatically and has been extirpated from nearly 80%
of its historic range. The reasons for its decline are unclear
but the alteration of river flow patterns as a result of
reservoir construction and the removal of water from the
watershed for irrigation and household use has probably had the
greatest effect. Competition with the accidentally introduced
Red River Shiner, may have affected the Cimarron River
population.
County by County List of Endangered and Threatened Species
US Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species Lists