The Cape Fear shiner (Notropis mekistocholas) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae.

[3] As of 2013, the shiner is endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to its small population size and threats to its habitat from dam construction and pollution.

[1] The species has since undergone a successful captive breeding program, and its status has been a significant factor in the destruction of a dam that destroyed part of the shiner's habitat.

believe that a single toxic chemical spill into the Cape Fear River could wipe out the entire wild population.

[citation needed] The Cape Fear shiner was only discovered in 1962[4] and described as a distinct species by Franklin F. Snelson Jr. in 1971.

The Cape Fear shiner is unusual in its genus because its intestines are elongated and more convoluted than those of other Notropis species, a trait shared only by the Ozark Minnow.

[5] It is superficially different from similar members of its genus because of the angle and size of its mouth, head shape, eight anal fin rays,[3] and black edge on its lower lip.

These populations are found in the freshwater Deep, Haw, and Rocky rivers in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, Moore, and Randolph counties.

[7] This minnow typically lives in clean streams over gravel, cobble, and boulder substrates, especially where nearby water willows and riverweed are available to provide protection from predators.

[14] Juvenile shiners are often found in slow-moving water, particularly amongst large rocks in the middle of a stream or in flooded channels and pools.

[5] The Cape Fear shiner is only known from five different populations, two of which are extremely small and run a high risk of extinction.

[12] This minnow has been endangered by dam construction on the Cape Fear River, which has led to the flooding and destruction of its shallow water habitat.

Some of the conservation methods used to protect this species include studying its biology in the wild and donating $16,000 in 1998 to help maintain a captive population at the North Carolina Zoo.

An experiment was carried out in 2001 in which 900 captive-bred shiners were released temporarily into the wild to judge water quality at potential reintroduction sites.

[4] In the fall of 2005, work crews began removing the Carbonton Dam, which had destroyed part of the shiner's habitat.