Breeding Habits, Development and Early Life History of Richardsonius balteatus, a Northwestern Minnow

O NE of the most abundant, widespread, and brightly colored fishes found in the Columbia River drainage is the redside shiner, Richardsonius balteatus balteatus (Richardson). Aside from the interest paid to the high variability of its anal ray counts by such early American ichthyologists as Eigenmann (1895: 10-25) and Gilbert and Evermann (1894: 196-197), practically nothing has been recorded concerning this minnow. Few investigations have been made on the life histories of the freshwater fishes of the American Northwest. Since the redside shiner is one of the commoner species and undoubtedly plays an important role as a bait and forage fish, the following observations are considered to be of value.