It is endemic to the United States, where it occurs in the Santee and Pee Dee river drainages in North and South Carolina.

[2] The fieryblack shiner is a small fish, 47-110 millimeters, with vertical, diamond-shaped scales that are characteristic of the Cyprinella genus.

Fieryblack shiners are found in North and South Carolina, above the Fall Line from the Piedmont Region to the mountains in the Pee Dee and Santee rivers.

[6] The fieryblack shiner is not listed federally or in either North or South Carolina as a species of special concern.

The fieryblack shiner faces many of the same challenges as those by other fish species: pollution, deforestation, encroaching human development, and siltation from poor land use practices.