Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Leuciscidae (Minnows) > Pogonichthyinae
Etymology: Pteronotropis: Greek, pteron, = fin + A misnomer given by Rafinesque to shriveled specimens, with the meaning of "back keel"; from Greek, noton = back (Ref. 45335); merlini: Named for Merlin G. Suttkuss.
Eponymy: Lieutenant-Colonel Merlin G Suttkus (1919–1986) was an officer in the United States Air Force and the senior author‘s brother. He helped him collect fish in the late 1940s. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Subtropical; 12°C - 23°C (Ref. 40813)
North America: Choctawhatchee River system above confluence with Pea River in Alabama, USA.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40813); 4.5 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal soft rays (total): 7 - 9; Anal soft rays: 8 - 11; Vertebrae: 36 - 38. Body very deep. Caudal fin and most of the anal fin on nuptial males are bright orange. Nuptial males have a chevron or lunate-shaped blotch of dark pigment slightly separated from the posterior end of the dark lateral band. Anterior rays of dorsal fin fall short of the tips of the posterior rays in the depressed fin (Ref. 40813).
Inhabits sand-bottomed and silt-bottomed pools and runs of headwaters, creeks and small rivers, usually along undercut banks and debris (Ref. 86798). Occurs in reduced current, under overhanging vegetation or an overhanging bank, around stumps or roots, or occasionally under floating debris caught on snags or trailing brush of Smilax or Vitis vines (Ref. 40813).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5020 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00871 (0.00395 - 0.01919), b=3.06 (2.88 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
