Pugnose Minnow
Opsopoeodus emiliae
Species Description
Growing up to 6.4cm in length, the Pugnose Minnow is a small member of the Cyprinidae family (Carps and Minnows). They exhibit a small, upturned mouth, a black lateral band extending across their body, and darkly outlined scales that create a cross-hatched pattern. The dorsal fin of males is dark with a light stripe from its clear to white middle rays – the dark pigmentation becomes more pronounced during spawning. In late spring, spawning males exhibit a figure “8” swimming pattern and rapidly raise and lower the dorsal fin to attract the attention of a potential mate. The dietary preference of this “pug-faced” fish includes aquatic insect larvae, algae, and larval fish.
Habitat
Pugnose Minnow prefer warm, clear, well-vegetated rivers and lakes with little to no current. However, in Canada, this species inhabits warm, turbid (cloudy), slow moving shallow waters in vegetated areas like riparian wetlands and nearshore areas.
Wait, that name sounds familiar…
Be sure not to confuse the Pugnose Minnow and Pugnose Shiner – they are two separate species with similar sounding common names.
Distribution in the Sydenham
In the southern United States, Pugnose Minnow are common and widespread but are critically imperilled in the northern states (Ohio and Michigan). In Canada, the species is limited to just 9 or 10 locations in the Sydenham River, Detroit River, Lake St. Clair and its smaller tributaries. Populations that once inhabited the waters of the Thames River are thought to be extirpated. This species may never have been common in Ontario as it is the northern limit of their range.
Pugnose Minnow were first recorded in Canada in Mitchell’s Bay in 1935 and first documented in the North and East Sydenham rivers in 1979. In the Sydenham watershed and nearby Lake St. Clair tributaries, Pugnose Minnow have been found in the East Sydenham River, North Sydenham River, Bear Creek, East Otter Creek, Maxwell Creek, Little Bear Creek, Whitebread Drain, McDougall Drain, and Chenal Ecarte.
Threats to Pugnose Minnow
Threats that have led to the listing of Pugnose Minnow as a species at risk include habitat loss from development in riparian areas and the destruction of wetlands as well as poor water quality from nutrient and sediment loading, impacts from climate change, and invasive species.