Exoglossum maxillingua (Lesueur, 1817)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
"Cutlips minnows" is also used for the genus Exoglossum as a whole. Exoglossum maxillingua (cutlips minnow) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. This is an olive-green medium-sized minnow (average 6 inches) of North America with a distinguishing lower jaw. Isolated from all other minnows by its three-lobed lower jaw with the middle lobe sticking out like a tongue. The range of this species is from the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario south into Virginia. It is listed as "threatened" in the Canadian province of Ontario, but may never have been common there as this is the most northerly of its range. It is found in running streams and seems to prefer clear, stony pools but not rapids. The distinctive mouth of the cutlips lets it feed on minuscule shellfish which it scrapes from rocks. Although molluscs appear to be its primary food, it also eats insect larvae and diatoms. An interesting feeding behavior of this species is "eye-picking" when food is scarce or competition is high.
Wikipedia contributors, Exoglossum maxillingua; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:32:33.104549+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Exoglossum maxillingua (Lesueur, 1817)
- Name authority
- (Lesueur, 1817)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Exoglossum
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyLeuciscinae Bonaparte, 1835
- genusExoglossum Rafinesque, 1818
- speciesExoglossum maxillingua (Lesueur, 1817)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Exoglossum. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Exoglossum laurae (Hubbs, 1931) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cyprinus maxillingua Lesueur, 1817 Lesueur, 1817 | synonym |
| Exoglossum lesurianum Rafinesque, 1818 Rafinesque, 1818 | synonym |
| Exoglossum nigrescens Rafinesque, 1818 Rafinesque, 1818 | synonym |
| Exoglossum vittatum Rafinesque, 1818 Rafinesque, 1818 | synonym |
| Exoglossum annulatum Rafinesque, 1818 Rafinesque, 1818 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1026585 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3DNCH. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.