Smallmouth Buffalo (Fishes of the Upper Green River, KY)

Smallmouth Buffalo

Ictiobus bubalus

Summary ⁶

The smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus, from the Greek for "bull-fish" and "buffalo") is a Cypriniformes fish species found in the major tributaries and surrounding waters of the Mississippi River in the United States as well as some other water systems where it has been introduced. It is a stocky fish like its relatives the bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) and the black buffalo (Ictiobus niger), although the smallmouth buffalo's mouth is located ventrally like other Catostomidae species...

Distribution ⁷

Global Range: (200,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 80,000 to >1,000,000 square miles)) Range includes the lower Great Lakes, Red River (Hudson Bay), and Mississippi River basins from Pennsylvania and Michigan to Montana and south to Gulf; Gulf Slope drainages from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Rio Grande, Texas and New Mexico; also in Mexico; introduced in impoundments in Arizona, North Carolina, and possibly elsewhere (Page and Burr 2011).

Habitat and ecology ⁸

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat includes pools, oxbow lakes, and deeper waters of large rivers; sometimes backwaters and mouths of smaller rivers; reservoirs and lakes. This species prefers clean to moderately turbid, deep, warm waters (Sublette et al. 1990). In Texas, habitats with abundant aquatic vegetation and silt bottoms were most productive (see Sublette et al. 1990). Spawning occurs n quiet pools, backwaters, flooded marshes, and meadows. Eggs sink and adhere to objects.

Systems

Freshwater

Iucn red list assessment ⁹

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2013

Assessor/s

NatureServe

Reviewer/s

Smith, K. & Darwall, W.R.T.

Contributor/s

Justification

Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, large number of subpopulations, large population size, apparently stable trend, and lack of major threats.

Nature serve conservation status ¹⁰

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Range description ¹¹

Range includes the lower Great Lakes, Red River (Hudson Bay), and Mississippi River basins from Pennsylvania and Michigan to Montana and south to Gulf; Gulf Slope drainages from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Rio Grande, Texas and New Mexico; also in Mexico; introduced in impoundments in Arizona, North Carolina, and possibly elsewhere (Page and Burr 2011).

Sources and Credits

(c) WorldFish Center - FishBase, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://d1iraxgbwuhpbw.cloudfront.net/images/species/icbub_u2.jpg
(c) Fishes of Georgia Photo Gallery, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiafishes/26208920324/
(c) Fishes of Georgia Photo Gallery, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgiafishes/26720594112/
(c) Martin Kelly, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Martin Kelly
(c) Debra Halter, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Debra Halter
Adapted by rkkessler from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictiobus_bubalus
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28829875
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34513363
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34513360
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28829868
(c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34513361

More Info

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