emerald shiner
Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818
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 emerald shiner (Notropis atherinoides) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. The identifying characteristic of the emerald shiner is the silvery emerald color on its sides. It is found across North America from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, commonly in large, deep lakes and rivers, though sometimes in smaller bodies of water as well. It feeds on small organisms such as zooplankton and insects, congregating in large groups near the surface of the water. It is a quite common fish and is often used as a bait fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Emerald shiner; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:10:26.043553+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818
- Name authority
- Rafinesque, 1818
- Common name
- emerald shiner
- 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 atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Minulus dinemus Rafinesque, 1820 Rafinesque, 1820 | synonym |
| Notropis atherinoides atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818 Rafinesque, 1818 | synonym |
| Alburnellus jaculus Cope, 1867 Cope, 1867 | synonym |
| Leuciscus copii Günther, 1868 Günther, 1868 | synonym |
| Alburnus acutus Lapham, 1854 Lapham, 1854 | ambiguous synonym |
| Alburnus dilectus Girard, 1856 Girard, 1856 | synonym |
| Alburnus nitidus Kirtland, 1854 Kirtland, 1854 | synonym |
| Notropis louisianae Evermann, 1898 Evermann, 1898 | synonym |
| Notropis atherinoides acutus (Lapham, 1854) (Lapham, 1854) | synonym |
| Minnilus dinemus Rafinesque, 1820 Rafinesque, 1820 | synonym |
| Notropis atherinoides caddonis Meek, 1891 Meek, 1891 | synonym |
| Alburnus lepidulus Girard, 1856 Girard, 1856 | synonym |
| Alburnus oligaspis Cope, 1865 Cope, 1865 | 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.
- Rafinesque, C. S. (1818). Descriptions of two new genera of North American fishes, Opsanus and Notropis. American Monthly Magazine and Critical Review, v. 2 (3) (Jan. 1818): 203–204. 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:74D6C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.