Fish

The endangered Blue Shiner

Joel Sartore / National Geographic Creative

Over 25 miles of river within the boundary of Little River Canyon National Preserve, the waters of the Little River are home to 40 species of fish. With some of the cleanest waters in Alabama, it's no wonder so many fish live here!

One of these fish, the Blue Shiner, is an endangered species of ray-finned fish found in the Little River within the park boundary. They prefer clear water with slow currents. Insects are the main diet for this fish, and they reproduce in late Spring through early Summer. The name comes from the color of the fish - it is blue with a bright blue/green stripe that runs from head to tail. These small (about 3 inches long), narrow fish have a small, triangular head, and their fins are bright yellow or orange with white around the edges.

Whether you want to view fish, catch fish, or swim with fish, Little River Canyon National Preserve offers multiple access points to the river along the length of the park.

Here is more information on fishing at Little River Canyon!

 

You can view, save, or print the Fish Checklist below by selecting Fish from the Select a Species Category drop down list below.

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Little River Canyon National Preserve

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Species attribute definitions

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