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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Cymatogaster aggregata
Shiner Perch


 
Scientific Name: Cymatogaster aggregata Gibbons, 1854
English Name: Shiner Perch
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code: F-CYAG
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Actinopterygii Perciformes Embiotocidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Dec 2017)
Provincial Status: SNR
BC List: Not Reviewed
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada:
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Reproduction Comments: Males mature at birth; juvenile females mate soon after birth. Spawns May-August, mostly June and early July. Delayed fertilization. Gestation 5-6 months, 3-36 young are born in June or July (Morrow 1980).
Global Ecology Comments: Found in large schools.
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)
 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant:
N /
Y /
N /
na /
Global Migration Comments: Moves onshore-offshore seasonally.
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Habitat includes calm, shallow marine waters, bays, and estuaries, sometimes brackish or fresh water. Usually this fish occurs in shallow inshore water (e.g., around eelgrass beds, piers, pilings) during the summer; has been taken in water as deep as 146 meters during the winter (Morrow 1980, Eschmeyer and Herald 1991). Pregnant females move to shallow water before giving birth.
Food Habits: Herbivore: Adult, Immature
Invertivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Opportunistic. Diet varies with size of fish and season. Young feed mostly on copepods. Adults eat a variety of small crustaceans, mollusks and algae.
Global Phenology:
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): 15/ /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: This fish is abundant and widespread along the Pacific coast of North America from Bahia San Quintin, Baja California, north to Port Wrangel, Alaska.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Nov 15, 2011
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
Morrow, J.E. 1980. The freshwater fishes of Alaska. Alaska Northwest Publishing Company, Anchorage, AK. 248 pp.
Moyle, P. B. 1976a. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.
Nelson, J. S. 1984. Fishes of the world. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xv + 523 pp.
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Wydoski, R. S., and R. R. Whitney. 1979. Inland fishes of Washington. The University of Washington Press, Seattle. 220 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2011. Species Summary: Cymatogaster aggregata. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 28, 2024).