Species: Cyprinodon variegatus
Sheepshead Minnow
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Cyprinodontiformes
Family
Cyprinodontidae
Genus
Cyprinodon
NatureServe
Classification
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Fishes - Bony Fishes - Other Bony Fishes
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Actinopterygii - Cyprinodontiformes - Cyprinodontidae - Cyprinodon - Sheepshead minnows in headwater lakes of the Oklawaha River in central Florida have been recognized taxonomically as the Lake Eustis minnow (C. HUBBSI or C. VARIEGATUS HUBBSI), but the characteristics used to separate this form seem likely to be only developmental responses to the lake habitat (Page and Burr 1991). CYPRINODON VARIEGATUS Hybridizes with C. PECOSENSIS in Texas/New Mexico (see GSTATCOM). Allozyme data are consistent with the hypothesis that C. VARIEGATUS was ancestral to four recognized species (C. BOVINUS, C. PECOSENSIS, C. RUBROFLUVIATILIS, and C. TULAROSA) from inland drainages associated with the western Gulf of Mexico (Echelle and Echelle 1992).
Ecology and Life History
Habitat Type Description
Freshwater
Migration
false - false - false
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Mainly a vegetarian (Thomson et al. 1978).
Reproduction Comments
Spawns in spring and summer. Female may spawn at intervals several times during season. Eggs hatch in 5-6 days (Thomson et al. 1978).
Length
5
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-09-20
Global Status Last Changed
1996-09-20
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.AL=S4&US.CT=SNR&US.DE=S5&US.DC=SH&US.FL=S5&US.GA=SNR&US.LA=S5&US.MD=SNR&US.MA=S4&US.MS=S5&US.NJ=S4&US.NY=__&US.NC=S5&US.RI=SNR&US.SC=SNR&US.TX=S5&US.VA=SNR" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Range includes coastal North America from Massachusetts to Yucatan Peninsula; also the West Indies (e.g., Bahamas, Grand Cayman Island; Jamaica) (Burgess and Franz 1989). The species is introduced and established in the Pecos River in western Texas.
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)