The plight of the Rio Grande shiner, Notropis jemezanus, in the lower Rio Grande along the Texas/Mexico border

Authors: Kevin Conway, Megan Osborne, David Portnoy

Year: 2016 (xlviii)

Abstract

The Rio Grande shiner (Notropis jemezanus) is endemic to the Rio Grande drainage of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It has been extirpated from the main stem of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and exhibits a fragmented range in the upper Pecos in New Mexico and the main stem of the Rio Grande along the Texas/Mexico border. We provide an overview of US museum holdings for N. jemezanus and report on recent sampling efforts for N. jemezanus along the main stem Rio Grande from the Big Bend region downstream to Laredo. Examination of museum voucher specimens indicates that records of N. jemezanus from the lower Pecos River and Devils River in Texas are based on mis-identification of Notropis megalops. Recent field efforts by our group have failed to produce individuals of N. jemezanus though a small number of individuals have been collected recently by Texas Parks and Wildlife employees from both the Big Bend region (inside of Big Bend National Park) and from downstream of Eagle Pass. The Rio Grande shiner is now rare and we predict that the future of this species will be bleak without immediate conservation intervention.