Ghost Shiner
Return To Search
Name and Code
Family
Leuciscidae - minnows
Species
Paranotropis buchanani
Taxonomic Authority
(Meek 1896)
Common Name(s)
Ghost Shiner
French Name
méné fantôme
Species Code
218
Family TSN
1198935
Parent TSN
1198990
Species TSN
163414
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (1996-09-16)
National Rank (NRank)
N3 (2017-12-26)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
S3 (2019-10-30)
COSEWIC Status
Not at Risk (Apr 1993)
SARO Status
Not at Risk
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
none
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
native
General Abundance
uncommon
Tolerance
intermediate
Economic Importance
none
Length-Weight Regression Coefficents
Intercept (a)
no data
Slope (b)
no data
Length Basis
n/a
Habitat and Feeding
General Habitat(s)
riverine
Environment
benthopelagic
Trophic Class
invertivore
Thermal Regime
warmwater
Habitat Preference
quiet pools and backwaters of small to large rivers or creeks near their confluence with larger rivers, and lakes, with sand or clean gravel substrates and some aquatic vegetation
Reproduction
Reproductive Guild
Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Litho-pelagophils
Spawning Habitat(s)
riverine
Spawning Season
summer
Spawning Month(s)
June-August
Spawning Temperature (°C)
19
Fecundity
32-952
Nursery Habitat(s)
riverine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
3.8-5.1 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
0.001-0.003
Age at Maturity (yrs)
1-2
Maximum Length (cm)
6.6 TL
Maximum Weight (kg)
no data
Lifespan (yrs)
2?
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
5.8 TL
Record Weight (kg)
none
Ontario Range Map
Ghost Shiner range
Ontario Distribution
southern Lake Huron tribuatries, Lake St. Clair and tributaries, Thames River, Sydenham River, Ausable River, St. Clair River, Detroit River
Photographs
Ghost Shiner photograph
Ghost Shiner photograph
Notes
first recognized from Ontario in 1972; tolerant of siltation and turbidity; use as bait prohibited
Information Sources
Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp.
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC.
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp.
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp.
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp.
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p.
Cooper, E.L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park and London. vii + 243 pp.
COSEWIC. 2023. Canadian wildlife species at risk. October 2023. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Gatineau, QC. iv + 130 pp.
Cudmore, B. and N.E. Mandrak. 2018. The baitfish primer: a guide to identifying and protecting Ontario's baitfishes. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bait Association of Ontario, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. March 2018. 40 pp.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p.
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023.
Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. [2nd printing, 2001]. The University of Tennessee Press. Knoxville, TN. xiv + 689 pp.
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Holm, E. and J. Houston. 1993. Status of the Ghost Shiner, Notropis buchanani, in Canada. Can. Field-Nat. 107(4):440-445.
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp.
Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Nursery habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2338: v + 42 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Adult habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2358: v + 43 p.
Lane, P.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 1996. Spawning habitat characteristics of Great Lakes fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2368: v + 48 p.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp.
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023).
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). 2013. Extinct, not at risk and data deficient species in Ontario list, 18 April 2013.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp.
Portt, C.B., G. Coker, and C.K. Minns. 1999. Riverine Habitat Characteristics of Fishes of the Great Lakes Watershed. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2481: vi + 62 p.
Ross, S.T. 2001. The inland fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. xx + 624 pp.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp.
Scharpf, C. 2005. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part I: Petromyzontidae through Cyprinidae. American Currents 31(4):1-44.
Smith, P.W. 2002. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. Urbana and Chicago, IL. xxix + 314 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., J.M. Boltz and L.R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Reprinted from The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389. Pennsylvania State University. 389 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., R.W. Criswell and D.P. Fischer. 2016. The fishes of Pennsylvania. Cichlid Press. El Paso, TX. 556 pp.
Trautman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio with illustrated keys, revised edition. Ohio State University Press. Columbus, OH. xxv + 782 pp.
Warren, M.L., Jr., and B.M. Burr [Eds]. 2014. Freshwater Fishes of North America, Volume 1: Petromyzontidae to Catostomidae. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. xv + 644 pp.
Winterton, G. [Ed]. 2005. The comprehensive bait guide for eastern Canada, the Great Lakes region and northeastern United States: identifying, harvesting and culture of baitfishes, crayfishes, frogs and leeches. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, ON. iv + 437 pp.