The spotfin chub is endangered in Tennessee and is recognized as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The largest adult will grow to 110 mm (4.3 inches).
Spotfin chubs live in areas of swiftly flowing water. They are very pretty fish, silver in color. During mating season, males take on a particularly beautiful glossy blue-green color. Spotfin chubs are found in the North Fork Holston River in Virginia; the Little Tennessee River between Franklin and Fontana Reservoir, North Carolina; and in limited areas of the Emory, Buffalo, and Holston Rivers in Tennessee.
Source: The Fishes of Tennessee, by David A. Etnier and Wayne C. Starnes. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 1993.
Photograph by Bill Roston