Name:
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- Pimephales, from the Greek, "fat head"
- notatus, from the Latin, "marked"
- Common name
- Other common names include: Blue-nosed Chub, Bullhead Minnow, Fathead Chub
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Taxonomy:
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- 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 Cypriniformes, minnows and suckers
- Family Cyprinidae, carps and minnows
- Genus Pimephales, the bluntnose minnows
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Description:
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- A
- Length to about 4"
- Coloration
- pale olive-green above
- silvery-bluish sides
- silvery beneath
- faint spot in first few rays of dorsal fin
- dark lateral band from snout to tail ends in dark spot that distinguishes
them from fathead and bullhead minnows.
- Body
- almost cylindrical in cross section
- broad, flat area just before the dorsal fin
- shortened, closely attached first ray in the dorsal fin
- crowded scales in advance of the dorsal fin
- complete lateral line of 41-44 scales
- dorsal and pelvic fins of 8 rays
- anal fin of 7 rays
- pectoral fins of 15-16 rays
- Head
- mouth almost horizontal and slightly overhung by the snout
- no barbel present
- broad, flat pharyngeal teeth, with long cutting edges, in a 4-4 pattern
- Lifespan
- During spawning. males develop a bluish body and a blackened head with
large tubercles arranged in 3 rows.
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Identification:
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- Distinguished from closely related Fathead Minnow (Pimephales
promelas) by the dark lateral band from snout to tail
ending in dark spot.
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Distribution:
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- Manitoba and North Dakota through the Great Lakes, south to Oklahoma and
Alabama.
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Habitat:
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- Essentially a small creek species that is intolerant of high turbidity.
- Common in northern Minnesota lakes, but rare in larger rivers
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Food:
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- Algae, insect larvae, diatoms, entomostracans, and rarely fish eggs or
small fish.
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History:
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Uses:
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- Excellent bait fish for crappie, perch, and other panfishes.
- Adapts well to aquaria.
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Reproduction:
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- Spawns spring to late summer.
- Adhesive eggs are deposited in masses on the underside of floating logs,
flat rocks, or other objects. Eggs develop into fry after about 8-12 days,
depending upon water temperature.
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Comments:
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Links:
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Last updated on 17 October 1999
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