Species that have atypical morphologies present unique opportunities to deepen our understanding of adaptive evolution. The mechanosensory lateral line system (LL) of bony fishes is defined by five LL canal phenotypes, including narrow and widened canals, which typically occur in different species. One of the few species to have both narrow and widened canals in the same individual is the silverjaw minnow, Ericymba buccata. The canals are regionally specialized, with widened canals below the eye and on the lower jaw (infraorbital, mandibular canals) and narrow canals (supraorbital, temporal, supratemporal canals) on the dorsal side the head. Widened canals play a critical role in benthic nocturnal feeding in other species and are hypothesized to mediate this behavior in E. buccata. Here we describe the morphology of the cranial LL canals (canal and neuromast receptor organ size and shape) and give the first report of superficial neuromast distribution and morphology using histology, SEM, and fluorescent staining of neuromasts. The widened canal neuromasts are three times the diameter of the narrow canal neuromasts (mean=12.9 vs. 3.4 mm, respectively), but both types of canal neuromasts are similar in shape (length:width=2.5 vs. 2.3, respectively). Numerous superficial neuromasts and external taste buds have overlapping distributions on the skin, which has not been widely reported among fishes. This study is increasing our understanding of the development and evolution of specialized phenotypes in the LL system and of regional specialization as a trend in adaptive evolution. Funding: SICB FGST and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (AEJ), TAMU Agrilife Research to KWC, George and Barbara Young Chair in Biology (JFW).