Description
The ribbon shiner belongs to the family Cyprinidae. L. fumeus has a short snout that is rounded with a relatively large terminal mouth. The head is short with large eyes, and the diameter of the eye is greater than the length of the snout. The body is moderately deep, elongated, and laterally compressed. Its dorsal fin lacks the prominent black spot. The dorsal surface of the fish is typically an olive or straw color that has a silver overlay, and there is a dusky strip along its back. The ventral surface is a silvery white, and has a silver-black strip along its side. There are more than 21 predorsal scale rows, the scales are small, and there are 10–12 anal rays. The maximum length is 55 mm (2.16 inches).
Diet
Ribbon shiners school in mid or surface waters. In the wet season, 64% of their prey comes from the surface, while 34% of their diet comes from benthic animals. During the dry season, when the feeding conditions are unfavorable, 37% of their diet comes from the surface, and 8%-21% comes from midwater and benthic animals.
Habitat
The ribbon shiners are commonly found in small to moderate sized calm streams. The streams can be clear to cloudy, and the sediment can range for sand, mud, clay, silt, or detritus.
Reproduction and life cycle
Ribbon shiners spawn during the late spring or summer. The breeding colors of the males is yellow, and there is no sexual dimorphism in adult sizes. They are broadcast spawners. There is currently no information about the age of maturation.
Distribution
The ribbon shiner is located in Gulf drainages from Lake Pontchartrain (Louisiana) to the Navidad River (Texas), and they are located in all drainage systems of Lake Pontchartrain, but excluding the Tangipahoa. They are also native to the Mississippi River Basin, from the lower Mississippi drainages to the Tennessee drainages, Central Illinois, southwestern Indiana, eastern Oklahoma, western Kentucky, to northwestern Alabama, and mostly fall below Fall Line but extends above in the Arkansas River drainage.
Etymology
Lythrurus fumeus means smoky red tail, with Lythrurus coming from the Greek lythron and oura, respectively meaning "blood"and"tail", whereas fumeus is Latin for smoky.
Article text: Wikipedia contributors, Ribbon shiner (source revision). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
