Notropis volucellus

History of Spread

Notropis volucellus (Mimic Shiner) is considered native to the Great-Lakes St.Lawrence, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River basins from Quebec and VT to Manitoba and south to the Gulf slope, where it ranges from the Mobile Bay basin (GA-AL) to the Nueces River TX (Page and Burr 1991). Atlantic coast populations in Mountain and Piedmont regions of NC-VA, in the James, Chowan, Roanoke, Tar, and Neuse drainages are considered native, probably having colonized from the New River drainage via stream capture (Jenkins and Burkhead 1993).

Populations of N. volucellus in the Connecticut River in MA, first collected in 1941, and now found in several tributaries, are considered introductions by Hartel et al. (1996). In a Merrimack River system tributary, the Squannacook, in Townsend MA, a few fish were collected in 1953, but have not been collected since (Hartel et al. 1996).

In the Chesapeake Bay drainage, aside from the presumed native populations in upper regions of the James drainage, Notropis volucellus is known from the Susquehanna River system in PA (Malick 1978), and the Potomac drainage in WV (Stauffer et al. 1995).

Susquehanna River- it was first collected in 1977 in Sherman Creek, Perry County PA, and in Lake Frederic, Dauphin County PA, a dammed portion of the Susquehanna mainstem (Malick 1978). It was found to be widespread and common in the Juniata subbasin (Juniata County) and on the mainstem in Perry County in 1990 (Johnson and Dropkin 1990; Johnson and Dropkin 1995). Notropis volucellus has not been reported from the lower River or the Chesapeake Bay. Possibly because of its small size (smaller than the mesh), and lack of taxonomic recognition, it has not been found in collections at the Conowingo Dam fishlift (McKeown 1984; McClane 1998, personal communication).

Potomac River- Stauffer et al. (1995) report Notropis volucellus from one location in the upper Potomac River drainage in WV, where it was 'uncommon', but do not comment on its native/introduced status there.

We consider Notropis volucellus (Mimic Shiner) to be a potential invader in tidal tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. This minnow could be present, but overlooked, in the tidal Susquehanna River and uppermost Bay.

History references- Malick 1978; McKeown 1984; Johnson and Dropkin 1990; Page and Burr 1991; Jenkins and Burkhead 1993; Johnson and Dropkin 1995; Stauffer et al. 1995; Hartel et al. 1996; McClane 1998, personal communication

Invasion Comments