The brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) is a fish of the Ictaluridae family that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) and yellow bullhead (Ameiurus natalis). It was originally described as Pimelodus nebulosus by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1819, and is also referred to as Ictalurus nebulosus.
The brown bullhead is also widely known as the "mud pout," "horned pout," "hornpout," or simply "mud cat," along with the other bullhead species.
The brown bullhead is important as a clan symbol of the Ojibwe group of Native Americans. In their tradition, the bullhead or "wawaazisii" is one of six beings that came out of the sea to form the original clans. The Brown Bullhead attains a length of up to 21Â in (53Â cm).
Appearance
The brown bullhead grows to be approximately 21 inches in length and is darker brown green dorsally growing lighter green and yellow towards the ventral surface. The belly is off white or cream, and the fish has an absence of scales. Additionally there is the presence of darker brown black speckles along the entire surface of the fish. The brown bullhead has two dorsal fins, a single adipose fin, abdominal pelvic fins, and an anal fin with 21 to 24 rays. The tail is only slightly notched having dorsal and ventral lobes angling inward. The fish has barbs present around the mouth and on the pelvic spine. The barbels around the mouth are black to yellowish brown on the chin and saw like on the pelvic spines. Juvenile brown bullheads are similar in appearance but have an increased likelihood of being a single solid color. The brown bullhead has a slightly subterminal mouth with the upper jaw extending slightly past the lower jaw. The mouth is in the inferior position to enable bottom feeding. The brown bullhead may also be distinguished from other similar species by its absence of a tooth patch on its upper jaw with the lateral backwards extensions.
Distribution
The native range of the brown bullhead is found to be in the Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages. More specifically the fish is found from the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick area to Mobile Bay, Alabama, and St. Lawrence- Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi River basins (from Quebec to Saskatchewan and south to Louisiana). Historically, there is evidence, however, that the brown bullhead was originally absent from the Gulf Coast west of Apalachicola and east of the Mississippi River. The species is also abundant in many non indigenous regions through the means of stocking for food and/or sport. These locations consist of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington.
Habitat
The brown bullhead thrives in a variety of habitats, including lakes, ponds, and slow moving streams with low oxygen and/or muddy conditions. In many areas of the United States, brown bullheads are opportunistic bottom feeders. It has few natural predators and is not popular with fishermen, so it has thrived. For native fish species, this predatory fish is a disaster. Catfish are found in a variety of habitats, from lakes or murky ponds to drainage ditches. They are scarce during the day but come out at night to feed, searching the bottom of a lake or river for food. They eat insects, leeches, snails, fish, clams, and many plants. They are also known to eat corn, which can be used as bait. Similar to other catfish, they spawn only after the temperature of the water has reached 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 °C) (cooler in the northern US) in June and July.
Fishing
This catfish is easily caught with natural bait such as worms and chicken livers. They have a scrappy but not unusually strong fight. Anglers often catch them by fishing off the bottom. When caught in very clear water when the flesh is firm and reddish to pinkish, the hornpout is quite edible and delicious. Nevertheless, its genial cousins such as the channel catfish and the blue catfish are better known for their consumption qualities. In most areas, they will not exceed two pounds in weight, with a current IGFA world's record of 7Â lb 6oz, by Glenn Collacuro, Lake Mahopac NY, August 1, 2009.
Invasive species
The fish has been introduced into many European countries such as Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Romania and Estonia as well as Western North America, Chile, Puerto Rico and New Zealand.
Diet
Brown Bullheads are bottom feeders. Their diet consists of algae, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, crayfish and other smaller fish species.
See also
- Bullhead catfish (general)
- Rough fish
References
External links
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2007). "Ameiurus nebulosus" in FishBase. February 2007 version.
- Ameiurus nebulosus, German language; originally published in: Datz-Aquarienpraxis 11/2004, S. 10f.