Cape Fear Shiner - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Cape Fear shiner was only discovered in 1962 and described as a distinct species by Franklin F. Snelson, Jr. in 1971. The specific epithet is derived from the Greek mēkistos/μηκιστος - 'longest/tallest' or 'very long' (a superlative from mēkos/μηκος - length) and...cholas/χολας 'intestines' or 'bile'. This fish belongs to the carp and minnow family Cyprinidae, and within this family, it belongs to the genus Notropis, which includes a large number of eastern North American minnows. The Cape Fear shiner is unusual in its genus because its intestines are elongated and more convoluted than those of other Notropis species, a trait shared only by the Ozark Minnow. This feature better adapts the shiner to a diet primarily of plant material. It is superficially different from similar members of its genus because of the angle and size of its mouth, head shape, eight anal fin rays, and black edge on its lower lip. It is also one of the few Notropis to have a black peritoneum. Its closest relatives are the Swallowtail Shiner and the Sand Shiner. It has no subspecies.