Wednesday 15 May
Guest Blog: Join Our SOS! Campaign to Help Polar Bears with Polar Bears International
Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus)
LEASTCONCERN
Minnow fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Minnow description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Cypriniformes |
| Family | Cyprinidae |
| Genus | Phoxinus (1) |
The minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) is a small, lively freshwater fish, with a greenish-brown back (2), which features darker spots that form an attractive 'banded' effect (3). It has fairly large eyes, a small mouth and a blunt nose (2). During the spawning season, males develop spectacular colours; the back becomes dark, the sides golden and the belly and lower fins turn bright red (2).
- Also known as
- Eurasian minnow.
- Size
- Length: 6-10 cm (2)
-
FishBase:
http://www.fishbase.org - Algae
- Simple plants that lack roots, stems and leaves but contain the green pigment chlorophyll. Most occur in marine and freshwater habitats.
- Crustaceans
- Diverse group of arthropods (a phylum of animals with jointed limbs and a hard chitinous exoskeleton) characterised by the possession of two pairs of antennae, one pair of mandibles (mouthparts used for handling and processing food) and two pairs of maxillae (appendages used in eating, which are located behind the mandibles). Includes crabs, lobsters, shrimps, woodlice and barnacles.
- Molluscs
- A diverse group of invertebrates, mainly marine, that have one or all of the following; a horny, toothed ribbon in the mouth (the radula), a shell covering the upper surface of the body, and a mantle or mantle cavity with a type of gill. Includes snails, slugs, shellfish, octopuses and squid.
- Spawning
- The production or depositing of large quantities of eggs in water.
-
IUCN Red List (March, 2011)
http://www.iucnredlist.org/ - Cihar, J. (1991) A field guide in colour to freshwater fish. Silverdale Books, Leicester.
- Buczacki, S. (2002) Fauna Britannica. Hamlyn, London.
-
Fishbase species account (Jan 2003):
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Phoxinus&speciesname=phoxinus - view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
More »
Top
Related species
Minnow biology
The minnow lives in groups and feeds on plant debris, algae, molluscs, insects and crustaceans (4). The spawning season lasts from April to June (2); during this time they undertake short upstream migrations to spawn in shallow, gravelly areas (4).
The minnow is an important component of the diet of larger fishes, including the brown trout (Salmo trutta fario), as well as many water birds (3). This species is a good 'indicator' of the quality and oxygen content of streams and rivers (2).
TopMinnow range
The minnow is found throughout much of Europe, from Britain to eastern Spain and eastern Siberia (4). It is widespread in Britain, but is absent from north Scotland (2).
More »
Species with a similar range
|
You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Minnow habitat
Inhabits clean streams and rivers that have either a sandy or stony bed (2), in cold, running or still water that is well oxygenated (4). The minnow reaches altitudes of 2000 metres, and has been found in some lakes (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Minnow status
The minnow is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List (1).
Minnow threats
The minnow is threatened by pollution and excessive stocking of salmon species (1).
TopMinnow conservation
Conservation action has not been targeted at the minnow (1).
|
|
There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For more information on the minnow:
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact:
arkive@wildscreen.org.uk
Glossary
References
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
Monday 13 May
Sunday 12 May
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Minnow
© Mike Lane / www.photoshot.com
NHPA/Photoshot Holdings Ltd
29-31 Saffron Hill
London
EC1N 8SW
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7421 6003
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7421 6006
sales@photoshot.com
http://www.photoshot.com
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.