Sand Shiner (Notropis stramineus)

The sand shiner is widespread in the central part of the United States and southern Canada, from Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River to Montana, Colorado and Texas. It is in the western drainages of New York State, the Allegheny, Lake Erie and the Genesee, as well as eastern Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence. There is an isolated population in the Shawangunk Kill which may be introduced.

Clear water and sandy bottom are the primary re- quirements of the sand shiner. It occurs in moderate to large streams and in lakes where there is enough current or wave action to keep the bottom free of silt.

The life history of the sand shiner has not been thoroughly studied. It apparently spawns at temper- atures of 21 to 37 C and has a prolonged spawning season, May through August in Kansas. Ovarian egg counts averaged 340. It is said to scatter its eggs over clean sand.

Iowa populations were found to be omnivorous, feeding on aquatic and terrestrial insects, bottom ooze and diatoms.

distribution

Distribution of the sand shiner in NY state.

A 210 KB image of the sand shiner is also available for download.

The above species description was taken out of "The Inland Fishes of New York State" by C. Lavett Smith, published by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 1985.

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