So far as the problematic sunfishes: I now think that they are red
spotted sunfish. The dark red spots on the specimen you posted
virtually confirm that. Look for good color illustrations of this
species such as the painting in Miller and Robison's Fishes of
Oklahoma or Boschung and Mayden's alabama book. Miller and Robison
give a lateral line scale count of 36-39 for Oklahoma fish.
The minnow you have labeled "sand shiner" looks more like _Notropis
amabalis_ (Texas shiner) to me, or possibly N. boops (bigeye shiner).
I don't think it is a sand shiner, because of the clear line above the
dark lateral band, the dark pigment around the lips, and the lack
of "puppy dog tracks" (paired spots along the lateral line). The
latter character is diagnostic of sand shiner, while the clear band
and dark pigment around the lips fit the other two mentioned. Also,
sand shiners I've seen either don't have a dark lateral band, or it is
confined to the posterior half of the body. They sometimes have a
silvery lateral band.
BTW, the University of Texas natural history museum web page has links
to photos of a good many fishes, including probably some of the ones
we're considering here.
Dave Mc
David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm
"Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"
----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Johnson <danjohns-in-io.com>
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:59 pm
Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- New photos from the field today
> Thanks David,
>
> I've added a few more photos taken this morning:
>
> http://www.io.com/~danjohns/fish/colorado_drainage.html
>
> The houston fish survey done in 1998 found dollar sunfish in this
> exactspot. I've seen these on a couple of occasions before, but
> wasn't sure
> what they were. I thought dollar sunfish were supposed to look very
> similar to longear. But these don't look very much like them.
>
> --Dan
>
> dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu wrote:
> >
> > Dan, I think your "redbreast sunfish" is more likely a dollar
> > sunfish, based on the opercular tab. The redbreasts I've seen
> have a
> > very long opercular tab. Also, the fish is deep bodied with a
> rounded> belly profile, while most redbreasts are relatively less
> so for
> > Lepomis, usually having a straight belly profile. Unknown sunfish
> > number 1 I think is a young bluegill. It has the double vertical
> > lines and a faint spot in the soft dorsal. Unkown sunfish
> number 2 I
> > think is probably another dollar sunfish. But I'm no Lepomis
> expert!> The Guadalupe bass looks like fingerlings I've seen, with
> some of the
> > lateral bars being diamond shaped. Lots of these in the larger
> > streams are hybrids with smallmouth. However, I'm surprised for
> it to
> > be that far down the river. I've not collected down there, but
most
> > references restrict it to the reaches further up. If you can, get
> > more and compare them with spotted bass from nearby. If you
> have fish
> > you can sacrifice, the telling detail
> > is the number of pyloric cecae, but you'd need to look it up,
> as I
> > don't remember the number for each of the two species. The
warmouth
> > is right.
> >
> > David L. McNeely, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
> > Langston University; P.O. Box 1500
> > Langston, OK 73050; email: dlmcneely-in-lunet.edu
> > telephone: (405) 466-6025; fax: 405) 466-3307
> > home page http://www.lunet.edu/mcneely/index.htm
> >
> > "Where are we going?" "I don't know, are we there yet?"
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Dan Johnson <danjohns-in-io.com>
> > Date: Friday, May 26, 2006 10:26 pm
> > Subject: NANFA-L-- New photos from the field today
> > > Went out collecting today near Columbus, TX today. I posted a
few
> > > pictures. There are a couple unknowns I'd like you pros to
> look at:
> > >
> > > http://www.io.com/~danjohns/fish/colorado_drainage.html .
> > >
> > > Thanks for the help.
> > >
> > > --Dan
> > > /--------------------------------------------------------------
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