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Ribbon shiner
The ribbon shiner, Lythrurus fumeus, is a freshwater species that is native to the United States. It is in the cyprinid genus Lythrurus.

Description
The ribbon shiner, Lythrurus fumeus, 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. This species has a dorsal fin that 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, 2.75 inches.

Diet
Ribbon shiners school in mid or surface waters. 64% of their prey in the wet season comes from the surface while 34% of their diet comes from benthic animals. During the dry season, when the feeding conditions are unfavorable, their 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 streams that are calm. 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 means red tail. It is from the Greek lythron and oura, lythron which means blood and oura means tail. In Latin fumeus means smoky.