Pinewoods Shiner: Facts & Habitat

About Pinewoods Shiner

The pinewoods shiner (Lythrurus matutinus) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. It is one of the six species endemic to North Carolina, where it is native to the Neuse River basin, with a single introduced record from the Haw River. The fish is about 8.6 cm. in length, and is the fourth longest fish endemic to North Carolina. The fish also has red tail, dorsal, and pelvic fins. The rest of it is gray, except for the area right under the dorsal fin.

Native and introducedFresh2 states

Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Pinewoods shiner (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include streams and small rivers, creeks.

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

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 8.6 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Identification and appearance

Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994); another commonly used name is Notropis ardens. Snelson (1990) recognized two subspecies, L. a. ardens and L. a. fasciolaris. Dimmick et al. (1996) recognized L. ardens as a species complex; as part of a re-evaluation, they elevated L. a. fasciolaris to species status, and resurrected L. matutinus from synonymy. Mayden et al. (1992) and Gilbert (1998) treated all three species as valid. Maximum size: 8.5 cm.

Native range

Neuse River drainage, North Carolina (Snelson 1990).

Introduction history

Unknown; probable bait bucket release. In North Carolina, the Cape Fear introduction is presumed to have been from the adjacent Neuse drainage (Snelson 1990).

Range

Where it lives

99.8%of mapped records

Share of 422 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 2 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.

Share of records by state

The USGS stream survey caught it at 53 of its sites, in 1 state. 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.
USGS NAS habitat: Freshwater
US status: Native transplant — native to part of the United States, moved to other waters inside it.
Migration: Undetermined

Classification

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Actinopterygii
Class: Teleostei
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Leuciscidae
Genus: Lythrurus
Species: Lythrurus matutinus
ITIS TSN: 201926
WoRMS AphiaID: 1421460
GBIF key: 2366058

Common questions about Pinewoods Shiner

What is the scientific name of Pinewoods Shiner?

The scientific name is Lythrurus matutinus, in the family Leuciscidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Pinewoods Shiner live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Pinewoods Shiner been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 2 states, with the most records in North Carolina, Virginia. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives