PETITION: Return Notropis spp. to a monotypic genus!
For generations, the microangler has been burdened by taxonomy. No other group of fishes exemplifies this problem better than the so-called eastern minnows of North America, or Notropis spp. Historically, this genus was used as a repository for taxonomists as they organized “new minnow discoveries” in the field. Currently, the genus contains > 300 species which may seem beneficial or even fun for micro-anglers. However, when microanglers are forced to capture these fish for their life lists, they are often left frustrated and confused by their similarity within and among locations; this, among other factors, is clear evidence that all the different species in Notropis represent a single species. Below are my foolproof reasonings for why all these so-called species should have a taxonomic re-evaluation:
1) If they are all different species, why do they all look the same? These so called spottail (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152150161), sand (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140783517), and channel (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130928912) shiners are clearly the same exact fishes caught at different spots! It gets even more ridiculous the further south you go. The wedgespot shiner (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/188546126)? Clearly just another sand shiner. The rocky shiner (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/186507336)? Again, just a nonsense name for another sand or channel shiner!
2) Taxonomists have used scientific names to confuse the public. Why else would they use a dead language, Latin, as the baseline for taxonomic names? This is especially true for the Notropis genus which is overloaded with ridiculous names. Adding more of these Latin names that people are unable to pronounce or write (because it’s a dead language) is clearly a tactic used to sow confusion among the public.
3) These fish are just glorified bait, so they shouldn’t be allowed to have different scientific names.
4) Taxonomists just name stuff so they can get credit. All the names in this genus represent nerds trying to cement their legacy and nothing more.
Based on this irrefutable evidence, I recommend re-lumping all Notropis spp. into a single species, hereby referred to as common notropis (Notropis nohopis, operculum_ben 2024). I’ll submit flags for curation as soon as possible.
