Iowa Fish Atlas

Native: Yes

State Rank: S3

ITIS Code: 164043 

National Rank: N5           

Global Rank: G5

Modeled By: Anna Loan-Wilsey

State Range:

The brown bullhead is the least abundant and widespread of the three bullhead species found in Iowa.  Although widely distributed in the northern part of the state, it is nowhere common (Harlan et al. 1987).  The brown bullhead is often collected as a single specimen from interior waters but is more abundant in the Mississippi River where it inhabits backwaters and sloughs (Harlan et al. 1987).

Habitat Affinities:

Requirements for the brown bullhead are similar to that of the yellow bullhead but it is more restricted to pond and lake habitats (Etnier and Starnes 1993) and less tolerant of turbid waters (Trautman 1981).  It occurs in swamps, ponds, inland pools, lakes reservoirs, impoundments (Robison and Buchanan 1988; Trautman 1981) and the backwaters and tributaries of larger rivers (Phillips et. al. 1982). The brown bullhead prefers clear, cool, well-vegetated waters with bottoms of sand, gravel or dark muck (Smith 1979; Trautman 1981). In protected areas of the Mississippi Alluvial Floodplain largest populations occur in quiet, clear waters with moderate to dense amounts of submerged aquatic vegetation (Pflieger 1997). It tends to spawn in sheltered places (Phillips et. al. 1982) or in nests fanned out in the bottom.  Similar to Iowa, the brown bullhead in Illinois and Wisconsin, is sporadically distributed and its numbers are low (Becker 1983; Smith 1979).

Predictive Model(s):

Statewide Model: Range Only

The distribution is based upon existing collection records and professional review.

Mississippi River Model:

The distribution is based upon existing collection records and professional review.

 (("pool" >= 'S09' AND "pool" <= 'S11') OR ("pool" >= 'S13' AND "pool" <= 'S14') OR ("pool" = 'S17') OR ("pool" = 'S19'))

Overall Prediction:

(("pool" >= 'S09' AND "pool" <= 'S11') OR ("pool" >= 'S13' AND "pool" <= 'S14') OR ("pool" = 'S17') OR ("pool" = 'S19'))

Literature Cited:

Becker, G.C.  1983.  Fishes of Wisconsin.  University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1052 pp.

Etnier, D.A., and W.E. Starnes.  1993.  The fishes of Tennessee.  University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee.  681 pp.

Harlan, J.R., E.B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew.  1987.  Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1997.  The fishes of Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, Missouri.  372 pp.

Phillips, G.L., W.D. Schmid, and J.C. Underhill.  1982.  Fishes of the Minnesota region.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  248 pp.

Robison, H.W., and T.M. Buchanan. 1988.  Fishes of Arkansas.  University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville, Arkansas.  536 pp.

Smith, P.W.  1979.  The fishes of Illinois.  University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illinois.  314 pp.

Trautman, M.B.  1981.  The fishes of Ohio.  Revised Edition.  Ohio State University Press in collaboration with the Ohio Sea Grant Program Center for Lake Erie Area Research,  Columbus, Ohio.  782 pp.

Data Sources:

Bernstein, N.P.  2003.  Personal communications and unpublished reports.  Mount Mercy

College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Bernstein, N.P., M.Getting, T. Kamp, S. Christian, R. Smith, J. Steele, and S. Steele. 

2000.  The status of the blacknose shiner (Notropis heterolepis) in Iowa: A preliminary survey.  Journal of the Iowa Academy of Sciences 107(1):16-20.

Bovbjerg, R.V., N.L. Pearsall, and M.L. Brackin.  1970.  A preliminary faunal study of

the upper Little Sioux River.  Iowa Academy of Science 77:177-184.

Cleary, R.E.  1956.  Summary of the cooperative exploratory fishing operations in the

Wisconsin-Illinois-Iowa sections of the Mississippi River- 1956.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Cleary, R.E,. and  J. Hlavacek.  1957.  Summary of 1957 UMRCC exploratory fishing in

pools 8 to13.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

DeCook, R., and Cleary, R.E.  1960.  Fishing gear evaluation Mississippi River - 1960.

Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Fairport Fish Management and Hatchery.  2003.  Field notes and unpublished reports.

Southeast Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Fairport, Iowa.

Goellner, K.E.  1976.  Field Notes: 1949-1976.  Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Guttenberg Fish Management.  2002.  Field notes and unpublished reports.  Northeast

Management District, Fisheries Bureau, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Guttenberg, Iowa.

Iowa Conservation Commission and Iowa Department of Natural Resources.  2002. 

Miscellaneous field notes from fish surveys, 1942, 1961, 1964, 1991.  Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Des Moines, Iowa.

Iowa State University Museum.  1985.  Collection of fishes catalog, 1878-1985.   Iowa

State University, Ames, Iowa.

Jordan, D.S., and S.E. Meek.  1885.  List of fishes collected in Iowa and Missouri in

August, 1884, with descriptions of three new species.  Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum 8(1):1-17.

Meek, S.E.  1892.  Report upon the fishes of Iowa, based upon observations and

collections mad during 1889, 1890, 1891.  Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. 10(1890):217-248.

Molamphy, T.J.  1961.  Summary of 1961 electro-fishing surveys of Iowa waters of

Mississippi River.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Molamphy, T.J., and R.E. Cleary.  1960.  Administrative summary electro-fishing survey

of Iowa waters of Mississippi River - 1960.  Job Description Investigations Projects.  Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa.

Museum of Zoology.  2002.  Division of Fishes collection database.  University of

Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/. (May 2002)

Nord, R.C.  1967.  A compendium of fishery information on the Upper Mississippi River.

Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois. 238 pp. 

UMRCC.  1953.  Revised species list- northern section of the river.  Pages 19-32 in

Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Meeting, Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee, Rock Island, Illinois.

Additional References:

Blumer, L.S.  1985.  Reproductive natural history of the brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus, in Michigan.  American Midland Naturalist 114:318-328.

Breder, C.M.  1935.  The reproductive habits of the common catfish, Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur), with a discussion of their significance in ontogeny and phylogeny.  Zoologica 19:143-185.

Breder, C.M.  1939.  Variations in the nesting habits of Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur).  Zoologica 24(3):367-368.

Clay, W.M.  1975.  The fishes of Kentucky.  Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Frankfort, Kentucky.  416 pp.

Cross, F.B.  1967.  Handbook of fishes of Kansas.  University of Kansas Museum of Natural History Miscellaneous Publication  No. 45, Lawrence, Kansas.  357 pp.

Cross, F.B., and J.T. Collins.  1995.  Fishes in Kansas.  University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Public Education Series No. 14, Lawrence, Kansas.   315 pp.

Douglas, N.H.  1974.  Freshwater fishes of Louisiana.  Claitor’s Publishing Division, Sponsored by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  443 pp.

Eddy, S., and J.C. Underhill.  1974.  Northern fishes; with special reference to the upper Mississippi Valley.  University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  414 pp.

Emig, J.  1966.  Brown bullhead. Pages 463-465 in A. Calhoun, editor.  Inland Fisheries Management, California Department of Fish and Game, Sacromento, California.

Fowler, H.W.  1917.  Some notes on the breeding habits of local catfishes.  Copeia 42:32-36.

Kelly, G., editor.  1986.  Animal habitat relations handbook.  Missouri Department of Conservation and U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Jefferson City, Missouri.  293 pp.

Kelso, J.R.M.  1974.  Influence of a thermal effluent on movement of brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus, as determined by ultrasonic tracking.   Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 31:1507-1513.

Lundberg, J.G.  1992. The phylogeny of ictalurid catfishes: a synthesis of recent work. Pages 392-420 in R. L. Mayden, editor.  Systematics, historical ecology, and North American freshwater fishes.  Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calfiornia.  969 pp.

Manooch, C. S., III. 1984.  Fisherman's guide - fishes of the southeastern United States.  North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh. 362 pp.

Metcalfe, C. D.  1989.  Tests for predicting carcinogenicity in fish.  Reviews in Aquatic Sciences 1 (1):111-129.

Moyle, P.B.  1976.  Inland fishes of California.  University of California Press, Berkeley, California. 405 pp.

Page, L.M., and B.M. Burr.  1991.  A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico.  Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.

Pflieger, W.L.  1971.  A distributional study of Missouri fishes.  University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History  20(3):225-570.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989a.  Aquatic community classification system for Missouri.  Missouri Department of Conservation.  Jefferson City, Missouri.  Aquatic Series No. 19. 70 pp. plus Supplement.

Pflieger, W.L.  1989b.  The stream resources of Missouri.  D-J Project - F-1-R-28.  Study S-20.  Missouri Department of Conservation, Columbia, Missouri.  

Raney, E.C., and D.S. Webster. 1940.  The food and growth of the young of the common bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus nebulosus (LeSueur), in Cayuga Lake, New York. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 69(1939):205-209.

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott.  1991.  Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada.  American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20, Bethesda, Maryland. 183 pp.

Scott, W.B., and E. J. Crossman.  1973.  Freshwater fishes of Canada.  Fisheries Research Board of Canada Bulletin No. 184, Ottawa, Canada.  966 pp.

Stewart, E.M., and  T.R. Finger.  1985.  Diel activity patterns of fishes in lowland hardwood wetlands.  Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science.  19:5-9.

Thom, R.H., and J.H. Wilson.  1980.  The natural divisions of Missouri.  Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science  14:9-24.

Photo Credits:

Upper Left:       Photo courtesy of the Native Fish Conservancy. http://www.nativefish.org

Upper Right:     Photo courtesy of Konrad P. Schmidt, copyright Konrad P. Schmidt.