REDEYE CHUB
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Notropis harperi
CHARACTERISTICS: This distinctive species has a small barbel in each corner of the mouth and, as its names suggests, a bright red eye in live individuals. The body shape is slender and somewhat compressed, with a rounded, blunt snout containing a subterminal, somewhat horizontal mouth. A dark lateral band encircles the snout and runs along both sides of the body from the snout to the caudal fin, terminating at a black caudal spot. A distinct light stripe borders the top of the lateral band.
ADULT SIZE: 1 to 2 in (25 to 50 mm)
DISTRIBUTION: Notropis harperi ranges from the Escambia basin east to the St. Johns River in Florida and disjunctly north to the Altamaha drainage in Georgia. In Alabama the redeye chub is confined to the Southern Red Hills and Dougherty Plains, from the Conecuh River drainage east to the Chattahoochee drainage.
HABITAT AND BIOLOGY: The redeye chub is found almost exclusively in springs and spring runs, where it is usually quite abundant. The relatively constant temperature regime of springs fosters a protracted spawning season for this species, and gravid individuals are found almost year-round. The diet of N. harperi consists of drifting insects, crustaceans, and small fish.
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: The redeye chub was described by Fowler in 1941.
ETYMOLOGY:
Notropis means keeled back.
Harperi means in honor of Dr. Francis Harper, who in 1939-40 collected the type of specimens during field investigations along the routes of John and William Bartram.
The copyrighted information above is from Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin.
