This fish has a slender body and is streamlined with a maximum length of 6 inches. The eyes are larger. The mouth is thin-lipped, ventral, without barbels. Dorsal fin is directly over pelvic fin. It is straw-colored with sides yellowish-white, not transparent.

 This species historically occurred in the Missouri River and the creeks and backwaters of its floodplain, and was common in the lower Kansas River. It prefers relatively deep water where flow is sluggish and bottoms are silted, but it does occur in strong currents of the mainstream.

Western Silvery Minnows are protected by the Kansas Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act and administrative regulations applicable thereto. Any time an eligible project is proposed that will impact the species’ preferred habitats within its probable range, the project sponsor must contact the Ecological Services Section, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, Kansas 67124-8174. Department personnel can then advise the project sponsor on permit requirements.

As defined by Kansas Administrative Regulations, critical habitats include those areas documented as currently supporting self-sustaining population(s) of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife as well as those areas determined by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to be essential for the conservation of any threatened or endangered species of wildlife.

 Currently, the following areas are designated critical for Western Silvery Minnows:

 (1) All Kansas reaches of the main stem of the Missouri River that are congruent with the Kansas/Missouri border.
 (2) The main stem of the Big Nemaha River in Nemaha County from the Nebraska/Kansas border (Sec. 2-T1S-R12E) to U.S. 36 (Sec. 26-T2S-R12E).
 (3) The main stem of the Wolf River in Brown County from U.S. 73 (Sec. 16-T3S-R17E) to the confluence with the Missouri River in Doniphan County (Sec. 8-T2S-R20E).