Largemouth Shiner

Modally 8 anal-fin rays; 29 or more predorsal circumferential scales; absence of basicaudal spot; breast fully scaled; upper jaw large, length greater than 9.4% SL, extending under orbit; gular stripe reaching under orbit, not to isthmus; breeding males with many large tubercles over head, with narrow gap on rostrum, not organized into rows, less than 16 non-marginal tubercles on caudal-peduncle scales; both breeding males and females with distinct plum-colored lateral stripe below iridescent light-yellow stole; and scapular bar absent or weak; mouth terminal to subterminal (Ref. 42680).

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 9; Analspines: 0; Analsoft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 30 - 32

Inhabits spring, most adults occur in the upper meter of the water column and near the margins of the cattails or in the growth of cattails surrounding the spring. Few individuals are found in the open water column and near the substrate; relatively few fish are seen in the shallow marginal waters. Forms schools of at least 500-600 individuals .

The largemouth shiner (Cyprinella bocagrande) is a critically endangered species of cyprinid fish. It is found only in the Guzmán Basin in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico, where it is called sardinita bocagrande. In 2012, it only survived in a single spring, which also was the last remaining habitat for the Carbonera pupfish (Cyprinodon fontinalis) and the dwarf crayfish Cambarellus chihuahuae. As this single spring was declining, it was decided to move some individuals of all three species to a nearby refuge in 2014 as a safeguard. The largemouth shiner grows to a standard length of 4.1 cm (1.6 in).