Greenfin Shiner

Cyprinella chloristia

Leuciscidae · freshwater water fish

2 minute read · Species guide

Greenfin Shiner field guide illustration

About Greenfin Shiner

The greenfin shiner (Cyprinella chloristia) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. It is endemic to the United States, where it occurs in the Santee River drainage in North Carolina and South Carolina, and the Peedee River drainage in South Carolina.This species reaches a length of 7.5 cm (3.0 in)

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.

Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding and surface or water-column feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include medium to large rivers, streams and small rivers, creeks.

The source records associations with sand, gravel, cobble. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 1.5 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.

Batch or serial spawning has been reported somewhere in the species’ range. This does not establish the same spawning pattern for every population.

Recorded spawning months are May, Jun, Jul for the source’s reporting region (NC). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes hiding a brood without subsequent guarding.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 7.5 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Recorded longevity in the compilation is 3.5 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.

Range

Where it lives

Share of 418 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.
0%
69.1%
Share of 418 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 3 states. The orange dots are USGS stream-survey sites where this species was caught.

A blank area on the dot layer usually means nobody sampled there, not that the fish is absent. Turn on “every survey site” to see where the survey looked.

The USGS stream survey caught it at 95 of its sites, in 2 states. That survey and the GBIF records are two different counts of two different things, so the site keeps them apart.

Habitat

Water and movement

Water
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Migration
Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Superclass
Actinopterygii
Class
Teleostei
Order
Cypriniformes
Genus
Cyprinella
Species
Cyprinella chloristia
ITIS TSN
163778
WoRMS AphiaID
1020137
GBIF key
5207636

Common questions about Greenfin Shiner

What is the scientific name of Greenfin Shiner?
The scientific name is Cyprinella chloristia, in the family Leuciscidae. Classification follows ITIS.
Does Greenfin Shiner live in fresh water or salt water?
WoRMS records this species in fresh water.
Where has Greenfin Shiner been recorded in the United States?
GBIF has observations in 3 states, with the most records in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives

Other Cyprinella species

Alabama Shiner4 states
Cyprinella callistiaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Altamaha Shiner1 states
Cyprinella xaenuraLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bannerfin Shiner5 states
Cyprinella leedsiLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Beautiful Shiner3 states
Cyprinella formosaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blacktail Shiner14 states
Cyprinella venustaLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blue Shiner4 states
Cyprinella caeruleaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bluestripe Shiner4 states
Cyprinella callitaeniaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bluntface Shiner11 states
Cyprinella camuraLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Conchos Shiner1 states
Cyprinella panarcysLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Fieryblack Shiner3 states
Cyprinella pyrrhomelasLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Ocmulgee Shiner3 states
Cyprinella callisemaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Plateau Shiner1 states
Cyprinella lepidaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Proserpine Shiner1 states
Cyprinella proserpinaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Red Shiner28 states
Cyprinella lutrensisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Santee Chub2 states
Cyprinella zanemaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Satinfin Shiner17 states
Cyprinella analostanaLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Spotfin Shiner31 states
Cyprinella spilopteraLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Steelcolor Shiner26 states
Cyprinella whippleiLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Tallapoosa Shiner2 states
Cyprinella gibbsiLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Thicklip Chub3 states
Cyprinella labrosaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Tricolor Shiner5 states
Cyprinella trichroistiaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Whitefin Shiner4 states
Cyprinella niveaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Whitetail Shiner14 states
Cyprinella galacturaLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Same family

More Leuciscidae

Alabama Shiner4 states
Cyprinella callistiaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Allegheny Pearl Dace19 states
Margariscus margaritaLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Altamaha Shiner1 states
Cyprinella xaenuraLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Alvord Chub2 states
Siphateles alvordensisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Apalachee Shiner3 states
Pteronotropis grandipinnisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Arkansas River Shiner5 states
Notropis girardiLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Arroyo Chub1 states
Gila orcuttiiLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bandfin Shiner5 states
Luxilus zonistiusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bannerfin Shiner5 states
Cyprinella leedsiLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Beautiful Shiner3 states
Cyprinella formosaLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bedrock Shiner3 states
Notropis rupestrisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bigeye Chub25 states
Hybopsis amblopsLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bigeye Shiner17 states
Notropis boopsLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bigmouth Chub3 states
Nocomis platyrhynchusLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Bigmouth Shiner21 states
Notropis dorsalisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blackchin Shiner13 states
Notropis heterodonLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blackmouth Shiner3 states
Notropis melanostomusLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blacknose Shiner21 states
Notropis heterolepisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blackside Dace2 states
Chrosomus cumberlandensisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blackspot Shiner5 states
Notropis atrocaudalisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blacktail Shiner14 states
Cyprinella venustaLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Blacktip Shiner4 states
Lythrurus atrapiculusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh
Bleeding Shiner8 states
Luxilus zonatusLeuciscidaeNativeFresh
Blotched Chub6 states
Erimystax insignisLeuciscidaeNativeFresh

All 267 species in Leuciscidae