Ameiurus nebulosus, Brown bullhead : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish

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  Ameiurus
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  Ictaluridae
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Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)

Brown bullhead

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Ameiurus nebulosus
Picture by Zienert, S.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Ictaluridae (North American freshwater catfishes)
Etymology: Ameiurus: Greek, a = without + Greek, meiouros, -os, -on = without tail (Ref. 45335); nebulosus: nebulosus meaning clouded, in relation to mottled and grey coloring (Ref. 1998).
More on author: Lesueur.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; depth range 0 - 12 m (Ref. 1998). Subtropical; 0°C - 37°C (Ref. 35682); 54°N - 25°N, 104°W - 61°W (Ref. 86798)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in Canada to Mobile Bay in Alabama in USA; St. Lawrence-Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, and Mississippi River basins from Quebec west to southeastern Saskatchewan in Canada, and south to Louisiana, USA. Introduced into several countries. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 26.6, range 20 - 33 cm
Max length : 55.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 556); max. published weight: 2.7 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 59043)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 7; Anal spines: 1. Caudal fin with 18-19 rays.

Occurs in pools and sluggish runs over soft substrates in creeks and small to large rivers. Also found in impoundments, lakes, and ponds (Ref. 86798). Rarely enters brackish waters (Ref. 1998). A nocturnal feeder that feeds mollusks, insects, leeches, crayfish and plankton, worms, algae, plant material, fishes and has been reported to feed on eggs of least cisco, herring and lake trout (Ref. 1998). Juveniles (3-6 cm) feed mostly on chironomid larvae, cladocerans, ostracods, amphipods, bugs and mayflies (Ref. 1998). Can tolerate high carbon dioxide and low oxygen concentrations and temperatures up to 31.6 °C although experiments show upper lethal temp. to be 37.5 °C; resistant to domestic and industrial pollution (Ref. 1998). Has been observed to bury itself in mud to escape adverse environmental conditions (Ref. 1998). Prepared hot-smoked and also cooked in various ways (Ref. 1998).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Nests are built by one or both sexes. After a period of caressing each other with their barbels, male and female settle over the nest, face opposite directions (while maintaining body contact) and spawn. Although eggs are cared for by one or both parents, there have been reports of parents eating their own eggs. Caring entails fanning by the paired fins, moving and stirring by the barbels, and may be picked up and ejected from the mouth; this ensures hatching.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 October 2011

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Potential pest

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos

Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability

Human related
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Taxonomy
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Synonyms
Morphology
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References
References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00871 (0.00537 - 0.01412), b=3.09 (2.95 - 3.23), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.7 ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.47; tm=3; tmax=8).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

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