Tonguetied Minnow: Facts & Habitat

About Tonguetied Minnow

Exoglossum laurae, tonguetied minnow, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. This fish is found in North America.

Native and introducedFresh6 states

Description

The color of the fish ranges from dark gray to brown-black, with purple specks located throughout its body and a white belly. The fish ranges from three to five inches long. The minnow is named for its mouth. The lower mouth is only partially covered with its lips, leaving part of the minnow's jaw exposed. The mouth is horizontal and small.

The minnow has eight dorsal fin-rays, seven anal fin-rays, eight pelvic fin-rays and thirteen to seventeen pectoral fin-rays.

Habitat

The minnow lives throughout Ontario and the Northeastern United States. In the state of Ohio, the minnow is only confirmed to inhabit the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers. The Ohio population of Exoglossum laurae, which is separated from more Eastern populations by several hundred miles, is considered a subspecies.

The minnow is unable to live in murky waters and requires a clean rock river bottom. It also requires a forested river bank. The minnow needs somewhat cool water temperatures to survive.

Hunting

The minnow has been categorized as an active hunter of prey, meaning that it will actively leave the safety of natural shelter to hunt prey. The hunting may occur alone or in groups. The primary prey of the minnow is aquatic invertebrates.

Reproduction

The minnow reproduces around the month of May. Male minnows construct a nest of pebbles, which are then used to protect spawned eggs. These nests are actively defended by males. Mating likely occurs over an extended period of time as minnow spawn in various stages of development have been observed in the nests.

Conservation status

Exoglossum laurae has a large population size and is considered common in its range. However, the minnow has experienced habitat loss due to water pollution and the channelization of rivers. The total population of the minnow has declined as a result of these threats. However, it is not deemed to be at risk due to its overall stable population trends and large population size.

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

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. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include streams and small rivers, creeks.

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

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 2 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.

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

The reproductive-guild classification includes guarding eggs or young at a spawning substrate or nest.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 16 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 4 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.

Native range

Three disjunct areas of upper Ohio River basin; upper Allegheny River drainage, New York and Pennsylvania; upper New River drainage, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina; and Great Miami and Little Miami River systems, Ohio; also in upper Genesee River (Lake America drainage), New York and Pennsylvania (Page and Burr 1991).

Introduction history

Unknown; possible bait bucket release.

Range

Where it lives

26%of mapped records

Share of 431 GBIF observation records with a state location, across 6 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 54 of its sites, in 6 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.
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: Exoglossum
Species: Exoglossum laurae
ITIS TSN: 163357
WoRMS AphiaID: 1525447
GBIF key: 2361984

Common questions about Tonguetied Minnow

What is the scientific name of Tonguetied Minnow?

The scientific name is Exoglossum laurae, in the family Leuciscidae. Classification follows ITIS.

Does Tonguetied Minnow live in fresh water or salt water?

WoRMS records this species in fresh water.

Where has Tonguetied Minnow been recorded in the United States?

GBIF has observations in 6 states, with the most records in Ohio, New York, North Carolina. The map shows observation records, which do not establish the complete natural range.

Closest relatives