catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
es in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas''), the brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus''), and the yellow bullhead (''Ameiurus natalis''), as well as other species, such as the white catfish (''Ameiurus catus'' or '' Ictalurus catus''), which are not typically called "bullheads".
The species known as bullheads can be distinguished from channel catfish and blue catfish by their squared tailfins, rather than forked.
Taxonomy and fossil record
''Ameiurus'' is recognized as
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
, meaning it forms a natural group. It is mostly closely related to the
clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
Satan
Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
'', and '' Pylodictis''. Up to the late 20th century, they were generally considered a
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...
sister group
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and ...
relationship between the species ''A. melas'' and ''A. nebulosus''.
Fossil remains of ''Ameiurus'' are known throughout North America, dating back to the
Late Eocene
The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...
. These remains suggest that the genus ranged as far west as Idaho, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington during the Neogene.
Species
Extant species
There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:
* ''
Ameiurus brunneus
The snail bullhead (''Ameiurus brunneus'') is a Osteichthyes, bony fish in the family Ictaluridae distributed widely in the southeastern United States. Among its Ameiurus, bullhead catfish congeners, it has many North American relatives, like the ...
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
Rafinesque
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...
, 1820) (Black bullhead)
* ''
Ameiurus natalis
The yellow bullhead (''Ameiurus natalis'') is a species of bullhead catfish, a ray-finned fish that lacks scales.
Description
The yellow bullhead is a medium-sized member of the catfish family. It is typically yellow-olive to slate black on the ...
There are currently nine recognized fossil species in this genus: The oldest, ''A. pectinatus'', gives a minimum age estimate for the genus at approximately 30 million years, during the
Late Eocene
The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Ogalalla Formation)
* †'' Ameiurus leidyi'' (Lundberg, 1975) - Late Miocene of Nebraska, USA ( Snake Creek Formation)
* †'' Ameiurus macgrewi'' (Lundberg, 1975) - Middle Miocene of Wyoming, USA
* †'' Ameiurus pectinatus'' (
Cope
A cope ( ("rain coat") or ("cape")) is a liturgical long mantle or cloak, open at the front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour.
A cope may be worn by any rank of the Catholic or Anglican clerg ...
, 1874) -
Late Eocene
The Priabonian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS's geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Eocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans ...
Living species of ''Ameiurus'' catfishes are natively distributed east of the North American continental divide, from their westernmost point in central
Montana
Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, south to
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, in streams of the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
and
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
Coast, north to
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
and
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, and
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
.
Habitat
Bullheads live in a variety of habitats, including brackish and/or low oxygen ponds, rivers and lakes, although they are seldom stocked intentionally. They are bottom feeders and eat virtually anything edible, including dead fish, insects, other fish, grain, fruit, crayfish and more. Because of their limited use as for sport, they are usually caught while trying to catch other fish, and few anglers pursue them specifically. Persons looking to catch bullheads will use the same bait as they would for channel catfish, including cut bait, chicken livers, blood-soaked meal, or other pungent baits. In the Northeastern US, bullheads are often sold to restaurants in the spring for "fish fries" by amateur fisher folk by the 5 gallon bucket load. Like all catfish, bullheads have a sense of smell that is more developed than most canines.
Description and identification
Bullheads do not get as large as the other catfishes native to North America, with average sizes in the one to two-pound range and world record sizes well under .
All three major bullheads can be confused with other catfishes by novice anglers. Because they have an unforked tail, many people mistakenly think small flathead catfish are bullheads. Both have the squared tail, and can have a mottled, brown appearance (in the case of the brown bullhead), but the flathead lower lip protrudes farther than its upper lip and it has a flat or "shovel" head. They also have very different habits and habitat.
Flatheads generally eat only live things, while bullheads will freely eat dead fish or other small animals. The flathead is more likely to be found at the bottom of dams or in gravel pits, while bullheads are found more often in the more murky areas. Additionally, flatheads can reach weights well in excess of , while the current world's record for any bullhead is a black bullhead, recorded at even while the average adult is perhaps . Brown and yellow bullheads are significantly smaller.
Relationship to humans
They are considered rough fish by many, and are seldom caught for food, although they can be quite edible if caught in clear water and prepared correctly. In
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, bullhead are important to commercial fishermen, who harvest about 1 million pounds a year.
Bullheads can make excellent live bait for larger catfish species such as flathead catfish in states where legal. Bullhead catfish can quickly become overpopulated in ponds, and proper management techniques must be employed in order to properly maintain bullhead populations.
On July 12, 1940, in Waterville, southern Minnesota a commercial bullhead fisherman named Bryant Baumgartner killed plainclothes game wardens Marcus Whipps, A. Melvin Holt, and Dudley Brady, who were investigating his operation. The killings became known as The Bullhead Murders, as researched by James M. Keller for his 2012 book, "Tragedy on Fish Row: The Waterville Shootings." Baumgartner then killed himself.
In the early 20th century local people could sell their catch for cents on the pound, more if cleaned. Wholesalers would pack the fish for market where eager customers sought out the cheap protein. However, Minnesota restricted its bullhead limit to 50 per day in 1939 due to concern about overfishing of bullheads with nets, and the state's wardens were actively monitoring commercial fishing operations for compliance at the time of the 1940 murders.
The black bullhead flourished in waters polluted by sewers, mink farms, chicken and livestock processors, and other largely unregulated waste producers. What wasn't sold for human consumption, the guts, bones, skins, and heads became food for mink ranches. Scott Mackenthun, a fisheries biologist with the Minnesota DNR, said black bullhead abundance has declined statewide the past 40 years after the Clean Water Act took effect in 1972. The DNR unveiled a memorial to the three slain conservation wardens in June 2011 in nearby New Ulm.