Black buffalo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black buffalo |
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The black buffalo (Ictiobus niger) is a type of freshwater fish found in North America. It belongs to the Catostomidae family, also known as the sucker family. These fish can live for a long time, sometimes up to 24 years! This makes them one of the longest-living freshwater fish.
You can find them in the Mississippi Basin and the southern parts of the Great Lakes. They were first found in Canada in Lake Erie and also in Boston Creek. In Tennessee, they live in rivers and streams in the Cumberland Mountains, some rivers in central Tennessee, and along the Mississippi River in western Tennessee. The way they live is quite similar to their cousin, the Smallmouth buffalo.
The black buffalo has a mouth on the bottom of its head. This means it mostly eats food found on the bottom of rivers and lakes. It looks a bit like a mix between the Smallmouth buffalo and the Bigmouth buffalo.
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Where Black Buffalo Live
The black buffalo fish lives in large and small rivers. You can find them across eastern North America. This includes the Mississippi Basin and even up into Canada.
Finding Them in Canada
In Canada, these fish were first discovered in Lake Erie.
Finding Them in the United States
In the United States, black buffalo live in many rivers. These include rivers in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio basins. They are also found in southern Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. States where they are native include Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Further south, they live in eastern Texas and Oklahoma.
How Black Buffalo Live
The black buffalo's lifestyle is very similar to that of the Bigmouth buffalo. Because their mouth is on the bottom, they mainly eat things from the riverbed. Their favorite food is the Asiatic clam. They also eat things like dead plant matter and sand, which makes up about 40% of their diet.
Their Favorite Spots
These fish usually prefer calm, shallow waters.
Size and Weight Records
The biggest black buffalo ever caught by an angler in the U.S. weighed about 55.5 pounds (25.2 kg). This record fish was caught in Tennessee in 1984. Most black buffalo are about 20 to 30 inches (51 to 76 cm) long. They can grow up to 48.5 inches (123 cm). Their typical weight is around 10 to 30 pounds (4.5 to 13.6 kg). A very large one, caught in Shelby County, Tennessee, in 1980, weighed an amazing 80 pounds (36 kg)! Black buffalo eat more bottom-dwelling creatures than their relatives, the smallmouth buffalo.
Black Buffalo Life Cycle
Black buffalo are large, strong fish that belong to the sucker family. They are well-suited for living in big rivers. Scientists can tell different species apart by their body shapes. Fossils show that this group of fish has been around since the Miocene era.
Spawning Season
Black buffalo lay their eggs in the spring. They like to spawn in flooded areas and calm backwaters of rivers. Their eggs are sticky and sink to the bottom. The eggs hatch in about 24 to 36 hours when the water temperature is between 19 and 24 degrees Celsius (66 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit).
Growth and Maturity
Young black buffalo grow quite fast. After their first year, they are usually about 13.4 cm (5.3 inches) long. It's not fully known when black buffalo become old enough to have their own babies.
Spawning Behavior
The spawning period can last for several days. During this time, the fish are very excited. They don't seem to notice unusual movements or disturbances around them. Black buffalo have been seen jumping violently and acting very eager while spawning. They only return to their normal cautious behavior once the spawning is almost over. Like other buffalo fish, the black buffalo can live for a very long time, even over a century!
Black Buffalo and People
There isn't a specific plan just for protecting black buffalo in Canada, beyond the general Fisheries Act. However, in some U.S. states, the black buffalo is a fish of special concern. These states include Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, and West Virginia. It is also a protected species in Wisconsin.
Population Concerns
In the Ohio River, very few black buffalo were found between 1957 and 1959, only seven fish. From 1968 to 1969, only four were caught.
Threats to the Species
Several things threaten the black buffalo. One big problem is the loss or change of their river homes. Dams on rivers like the Mississippi and Wisconsin can break up their habitat. Another issue is that people sometimes mistake black buffalo for other fish. This leads to them being caught by accident in commercial fishing. Also, an invasive fish called the bighead carp shares the same habitat. This carp eats a lot of tiny water animals called zooplankton, which means less food for the black buffalo.
Fishing Records
The world record for a black buffalo caught with a fishing rod is 63 pounds and 6 ounces (28.7 kg). This huge fish was caught in the Mississippi River in Iowa in 1999.
Helping Black Buffalo Thrive
To make sure black buffalo can live long lives and have many babies, we need to protect and restore their large river habitats. It's also important to teach people about these fish. Anglers (people who fish), biologists (scientists who study living things), and the public need to learn how to identify them. They also need to understand where these fish live and what they need.
Challenges and Solutions
It can be tricky to study and protect black buffalo because they sometimes breed with other fish species. Dams should have special passages for fish to help them move between different parts of their habitat. We also need to control invasive species that compete with or harm native fish. Finally, commercial fishing needs to be managed carefully to protect black buffalo populations.
