THE SPOTFIN Chub
(TURQUOISE SHINER)
THE FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (Act) recognizes that many of our
nation’s valuable plant and wildlife resources have been lost and that
other species are close to extinction. The Act provides a means to help
preserve these species and their habitat for future generations. The spotfin
chub (Cyprinella =Hybopsis monacha), which was once widely
distributed within the Tennessee River system, is now restricted to only
four river systems in the Tennessee River valley. To help secure its
continued existence, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated this
fish as a threatened species on September 9,1977.
DESCRIPTION,
BIOLOGY AND
HABITAT
The spotfin chub is a small, slender fish, not
	exceeding 4 inches in length. Juveniles, females, and nonbreeding
males have tan-, gray-, or olive-colored backs, bright silvery sides, and white
bellies. A dark spot is sometimes visible at the base of the tail. Large breeding
males have olive or tan backs, brilliant iridescent turquoise or royal blue on
the upper sides of their bodies, and midsides and bellies that are silvery
cream. Their fins are satiny turquoise and sometimes have a gold glint.
The spotfin chub spawns from mid-May to early September. Females
deposit eggs in crevices between rocks. Males fertilize the eggs and stay
to defend the eggs by swimming repeatedly over the nest site. Although
some individuals may spawn at 1 year of age, most spotfin chubs reach
sexual maturity at 2 years of age. Spotfins apparently do not live past 3
years of age.
The spotfin inhabits clear water over gravel, boulders, and bedrock in
large creeks and medium-sized rivers having moderate current. The fish is
rarely seen over sand, and this species appears to avoid silty areas. The
spotfin feeds by sight and taste on tiny insect larvae that occur on the
stream bottom.

WHY IS THIS FISH SO RARE AND
WHAT IS BEING DONE TO PRESERVE IT
The spotfin chub is known historically trom twelve Tennessee River
tributaries in the States of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia,
and Alabama. However, much of the species’ historic habitat has been
destroyed or seriously altered. Most of the Tennessee River and many of
its tributaries are now impounded. Forested watersheds have been
cleared, and many streams are chocked with silt. Others streams are
polluted by domestic, agricultural, mining, and industrial wastes. As a
result of this habitat loss, the species now survives in only four isolated
tributary systems—the Buffalo River, Lewis County, Tennessee; Emory
River (including the Obed River, Clear Creek, and Daddys Creek),
Morgan, Cumberland, and Fentess Counties, Tennessee; North Fork
Holston River, Hawkins and Sullivan Counties, Tennessee, and Scott and
Washington Counties, Virginia; and Little Tennessee River, Macon and
Swain Counties, North Carolina.

Some streams have begun to improve, and spotfin recovery efforts are
underway. During the past few falls, adult spotfin chubs have been
collected from the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina. These fish
have been released into Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, Blount County, Tennessee, in an attempt to reestablish one
of the lost populations. Other streams are being considered for possible
reintroductions. To further help in the recovery program, some spotfin
chubs have been brought into the laboratory with the hope that they will
reproduce in captivity.