Image of Threadfin shad

Description:

"Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma petenense) 31 October 2014: Months before the wettest first six months in Texas on record would bring unprecedented rain to the North Texas region and state from January through June of 2015, the relative lack of rainfall had been the talk of weather watchers. One of the results of this in late October 2014 was the low flow of water being released by the US Army Corps of Engineers at the Lewisville Lake Dam at LLELA. This made catching fish relatively easier for the large fish predators and aquatic birds that feed on fish like herons, egrets, fish hawks like the Osprey, and such. This was the scene that led us to photograph the Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma petenense) in this observation. These small native fish that occur in the Elm Fork Trinity River and are food for the larger predator fish like Large Mouth Bass, large Blue Catfish, Alligator Gar, and others. Here's the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's (TPWD) thumbnail sketch for Treadfin Shad: ""Dorosoma is Greek for ""lance body"", referring to the lance-like shape of young shad. The word petenense refers to Lake Peten in the Yucatan, the species type locality. Threadfin shad are usually easily distinguished from gizzard shad by the fact that the upper jaw does not project beyond the lower jaw. The anal fin usually has 20-25 rays, as opposed to 29-35 rays found in gizzard shad. The upper surface is silver-blue and grades to nearly white on the sides and belly. All fins have yellow tint except the dorsal. In this species, unlike gizzard shad, the chin and floor of the mouth is speckled with black pigment. Adults are considerably smaller than gizzard shad adults, rarely exceeding 6 inches in length."" What we observed was a large stranded Blue Catfish that was chasing the Threadfin Shad and the Threadfins were evading the Blue Catfish's voracious appetite, trying to avoid being its next meal. So both were stranded in the middle of the Elm Fork Trinity River and the river at that point and that day was fordable to the rocky point where the fish had become stranded. So we walked out into the less than one foot of water that was flowing and photographed both predator and prey and then pushed them back in the river's flow to have them surely continue their life and death drama. On the rocks they would have made for easy pickings for the Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons that were in the vicinity taking advantage of the very same conditions to fill their stomachs. So this observation presents Threadfin Shad which feeds many of the larger fish in the Elm Fork Trinity River. This species of fish is found in running sources of water in the eastern half of the United States though it has been introduced elsewhere as a source of prey for larger game fish. The TPWD brief distribution comment for this species states: ""Threadfin shad naturally occur in waters west of the Appalachian Mountains, north to Kentucky, west to East Texas, south to the Rio Grande drainage, and east to Florida. The species has been widely introduced in California and Arizona, as well as Appalachian and southern Atlantic states. Threadfin shad are common in all East Texas streams and have been introduced as forage fish in many reservoirs statewide."" Because of its native North American presence in the United States, Mexico and Guatemala, Threadfin Shad is an authentic resident of the Western Hemisphere. LLELA is administered jointly by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Lewisville, Texas, the Lewisville Independent School District, and the University of North Texas. Sources: Fuller, Pam and Matt Neilson. 2015. Dorosoma petenense. United States Geological Survey (USGS) SGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=493 Revision Date: 7/16/2015 ""Threadfin Shad,"" Wikipedia, description, photograph, distribution, bibliography, accessed 12.30.15, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threadfin_shad ""Threadfin Shad (Dorosoma petenense),"" Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, fact sheet, photograph, accessed 12.30.15, http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/threadfinshad/ ""Water Body Records for Elm Fork Trinity River,"" Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, accessed 12.30.15, http://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/action/waterecords.php?WB_code=1195"