The shiner’s intestines are uniquely adapted to help the fish digest plant material. This makes the Cape Fear shiner stand out within the minnow family - it can eat plant material that other minnows cannot. It has a convoluted gut, kind of like a cow has several stomachs, to help it digest the plant material. The shiner was originally thought to be herbivorous, but recent studies have shown that it eats a variety of both plant and animal matter. It is known to eat detritus, bacteria, phytoplankton, diatoms, and algae. 

The Cape Fear shiner is a small (about 2 inches long), yellowish minnow with black bands along the sides of its body. The shiner’s fins are yellow and somewhat pointed. It has a black upper lip, and the lower lip bears a thin black bar along its margin. The Cape Fear shiner is known to consume plant and animal material. However, unlike most other minnows in the genus Notropis, the Cape Fear shiner’s digestive tract is modified primarily for a plant diet by having an elongated, convoluted intestine. 

Habitat (500 characters max) 

The Cape Fear shiner is generally associated with gravel, cobble, and boulder substrates, and has been observed in slow pools, riffles, and slow runs, often with water willow, which may be used as cover or protection from predators (e.g. flathead catfish, bass and crappie). The Cape Fear shiner can be found swimming in schools of other minnow species but is never the most abundant species. During the spawning season, May through July, adult shiners move to slower flowing pools to lay eggs on the rocky substrate. Juveniles are often found in slack water, among large rock outcrops of the midstream, and in flooded side channels and pools. Cape Fear shiners are sexually mature after their first year and are known to live up to nine years in captivity. 

Video url: Cape Fear shiners 

Designated Critical Habitat 

Critical habitat is defined under the Endangered Species Act as the specific areas within the geographical area occupied by a species which have physical or biological features essential to the conservation of the species and that may require special management considerations or protection, or specific areas outside the geographical area occupied by a species but for which those areas are essential for the conservation of the species. 

• Chatham County, NC. Approximately 4.1 miles of the Rocky River from North Carolina State Highway 902 Bridge downstream to Chatham County Road 1010 Bridge; 

• Chatham and Lee Counties, NC. Approximately 0.5 river mile of Bear Creek, from Chatham County Road 2156 Bridge downstream to the Rocky River, then downstream in the Rocky River (approximately 4.2 river miles) to the Deep River, then downstream in the Deep River (approximately 2.6 river miles) to a point 0.3 river mile below the Moncure, North Carolina, U.S. Geological Survey Gaging Station; and, 

• Randolph and Moore Counties, NC. Approximately 1.5 miles of Fork Creek, from a point 0.1 river mile upstream of Randolph County Road 2873 Bridge downstream to the Deep River then downstream approximately 4.1 river miles of the Deep River in Randolph and Moore Counties, North Carolina, to a point 2.5 river miles below Moore County Road 1456 Bridge.