Notropis mekistocholas Snelson, 1971
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
The Cape Fear shiner (Notropis mekistocholas) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. It is endemic to the central part of the state of North Carolina in the southeastern United States, and is only found in the shallow streams of the Cape Fear River basin. The fish is small and yellow with black lips and a black stripe that runs down the middle of the fish's side. This shiner is normally found in mixed schools with other minnow species. It is unique amongst its genus because it has elongated intestines that are specifically adapted to a primarily herbivorous diet. It can breed twice a year and normally lives for only two or three years in the wild. The males and females are normally similar in appearance but become different colors in the spawning season. This species of shiner was not discovered until 1962.
Wikipedia contributors, Cape Fear shiner; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:22:31.791959+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Notropis mekistocholas Snelson, 1971
- Name authority
- Snelson, 1971
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Notropis
- 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
- genusNotropis Rafinesque, 1818
- speciesNotropis mekistocholas Snelson, 1971
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Notropis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Durango ShinerNotropis aulidion Chernoff & Miller, 1986 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis candidus Suttkus, 1980 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis chiliticus (Cope, 1870) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis chlorocephalus (Cope, 1870) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis cummingsae Myers, 1925 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis dorsalis (Agassiz, 1854) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis edwardraneyi Suttkus & Clemmer, 1968 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis girardi Hubbs & Ortenburger, 1929 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis heterodon (Cope, 1865) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis hypsilepis Suttkus & Raney, 1955 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Notropis imeldae Cortés, 1968 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rio Grande ShinerNotropis jemezanus (Cope, 1875) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Snelson, F. F., Jr. (1971). Notropis mekistocholas, a new herbivorous cyprinid fish endemic to the Cape Fear River basin, North Carolina. Copeia, 1971 (3): 449–462. https://doi.org/10.2307/1442441 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:47ZHT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.