Distribution in the area:
Balfour Lake, Baptiste Lake,
Bark Lake, Cannon Lake, Card Lake, Derry Lake, Faraday
Lake, Kamaniskeg Lake, Mink Lake, Wollaston Lake,
Name:
Ictalurus, from the Greek, "fish
cat"
nebulosus, from the Latin, "clouded"
Common name from the resemblance of the nostril whiskers
to the horns of a bull.
Other common names include: Brown Catfish, Bullhead,
Catfish, Common Bullhead, Common Catfish, Horned Pout,
Marbled Bullhead, Minister, Mudcat, Northern Brown Bullhead,
Red Cat, Speckled Bullhead, barbotte brune (Que), törpe
harcsa (Hun), barbotte brune (Q), bruine amerikaanse
dwergmeerval (Dut), dværgmalle (Dan), dvärgmal
(Swe), dvergmalle (Nor), Kanalnyi somik (Rus), Katzenwels
(Ger), Piikkimonni (Fin), Sumik karlowaty (Pol), Zwergwels
(Ger), Sumecek americký (Cz)
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Teleostei
Superorder Ostariophysi
Order Siluriformes, the catfishes
Family Ictaluridae, North American freshwater catfishes;
bullhead catfishes
Genus Ictalurus, the bullheads
Also known as Ameiurus nebulosus
Description:
A medium size member of the
catfish family
Length:
Generally 8" - 14"
Weight:
To about 2 lbs under ideal
conditions
most average less than 1 lb
Color:
Olive to brown with dark mottlings
on sides
fading to white or cream underneath
Body:
Thick and rounded, heaviest
toward the front lacks scales but the skin has many
taste glands. sharp, sawtoothed, spines at the base
of the dorsal and pectoral fins which can be locked
in an erect position, thought to help protect the bullhead
against predators by making it much harder to swallow.
anal fin of 22/23 rays numerous strong barbs form a
serrated back side of the pectoral fin spines tail fin
square and slightly notched adipose fin (small fin on
the back in front of the tail)
Head:
Broad, large, somewhat flattened
teeth in pads on both jaws; used largely for tearing
and pulling off pieces of food. four pair of fleshy
barbels. Those on top of the mouth are particularly
long, sweeping back past the small fin in the middle
of its chest. Unlike most catfish, the upper jaw juts
out slightly farther than the lower lip.
Lifespan:
usually matures at age 3 lives
for 6 to 8 years
Identification:
Distinguished as a bullhead
by its broad, flat, barbel strewn head.
Distinguished from the other bullheads by the color
of its barbels:
Yellow Bullhead (Ictalurus natalis) has white barbels
Black Bullhead (Ictalurus melas) has black or grey barbels
Brown Bullhead has barbels light colored at the base,
darkening to grey or black at the tips
Body color varies, and is not a reliable indicator of
species.
Similar species:
Similar to channel catfish.
Distinquished from channel cafish by its square tail.
Distinguished from the other bullheads by the color
of its barbels:
Yellow Bullhead (Ictalurus natalis) has white barbels
Black Bullhead (Ictalurus melas) has black or grey barbels
Brown Bullhead has barbels light colored at the base,
darkening to grey or black at the tips
Habitat:
Shallow, weedy, muddy areas
of lakes or large slow-moving streams; also impoundments,
lakes, and ponds.
Brown Bullheads are found throughout the area. Inhabitating
shallow areas of lakes, ponds, and large slow moving
streams, usually associated with aquatic vegitation
and muddy bottoms.
Can tolerate higher water temperatures and carbon dioxide
levels, and lower oxygen concentrations than many other
fish species.
Resistant to domestic and industrial pollution. In areas
of heavy pollution can be the only fish species present.
Food:
Like many other catfish, feeds
near the bottom of ponds and lakes rich in submerged
plants and moss. Highly omnivorous, uses four pair of
whisker-like barbels around its mouth to "taste"
the water in search of food.
Nocturnal consumer of molluscs, insects, leeches, crayfish
and plankton, worms, algae, plant material, and fishes.
Has been reported to feed on eggs of Cisco (Coregonus
artedi), Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis), and
Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush).
Juveniles feed mostly on chironomid larvae, cladocerans,
ostracods, amphipods, bugs, and mayflies.
Uses:
Known for its delicious taste,
its reputation among food lovers prompted the export
of live bullheads from the US to Europe, though it never
grew as large or as tasty there.
Bullheads are readily caught, even from shore, using
worms fished on bottom. Fishing at nightfall is more
successful since bullheads feed by taste and smell rather
than sight.
Fine eating but should be skinned to avoid muddy taste,
Reproduction:
Spawns rather early in spring,
usually in late April or May.
Males fan out a saucer-shaped nest in the mud or nest
in natural cavities where the female deposits eggs,
ranging from 2,000 to 10,000, or more. The eggs are
guarded by both parents during the 5 to 8 day incubation
period. The parents care for the eggs by fanning them
with their fins and physically stirring them up.
Upon hatching, the young are jet black and resemble
tadpoles. The fry are herded about in schools for several
weeks until they are about 2" long.
At the end of their first year they reach a length of
about 2½" to 4" and mature in three
years.
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