The Rough Shiner is native to Coastal Plain creeks in the Mobile Basin and Pascagoula river drainages in Alabama and Mississippi as well as the Bear Creek of the middle Tennessee River drainage. It has also been introduced into the Escambia and Chattahoochee river drainages. They are found in flowing pools of creeks and small rivers over sand and gravel. As the common name suggests, the scales on the sides of Rough Shiners are outlined in pigment, giving them a “rough” appearance.