Lake chub facts for kids
The lake chub (Couesius plumbeus) is a small freshwater fish. It's a type of minnow found in Canada and parts of the United States. This fish lives further north than any other minnow in North America. Its scientific name, Couesius, comes from Dr. Elliott Coues, who first collected a sample of this fish.
Quick facts for kids Lake chub |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Couesius
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| Species: |
plumbeus
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Contents
Description
The lake chub has a body shaped like a torpedo, which means it's long and rounded. It usually grows to be about 10 to 17.5 centimeters (4 to 7 inches) long. The longest ones can reach around 22.5 centimeters (9 inches).
Its back is olive-brown or dark brown. Its sides are a shiny silver color, like lead. This is why its scientific name includes plumbeus, which means "leaden." The front of its face is rounded and sticks out a little past its upper lip.
At each corner of its mouth, the lake chub has a tiny whisker-like part called a barbel. It has small, easy-to-see scales. Some scales might be black, forming dark spots on its lower sides.
The fins on its back, belly, and near its tail each have 8 soft rays. Its front fins are wide and usually have 15 or 16 rays. This fish does not have any teeth, a fatty fin on its back, or sharp spines. Its mouth is quite small, and its tail is split into two parts.
When male lake chubs are ready to mate, they can get bright orange or red patches. These patches appear at the base of their front fins and sometimes near their mouth. They might also grow small bumps on their head and fins. Young lake chubs look similar to adults but have less noticeable spots or stripes. Female lake chubs are usually bigger than the males.
Where Lake Chubs Live
The lake chub is found all over Canada, reaching almost to the Arctic Circle. You can also find smaller groups of them in the northern United States. These areas include New England, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. They also live in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Washington, Idaho, and Utah.
The lake chub is the only type of minnow known to live in Alaska. You can also find them in Lake Michigan in Illinois. They are also in the Platte River system in Wyoming. Some groups of lake chubs are still found in the upper Missouri River area.
Habitat
As its name suggests, the lake chub mostly lives in cold lakes. These lakes usually have clean gravel bottoms. It can also live in cold rivers and streams.
This fish often stays in shallow water. However, in the middle of summer, it might move to deeper parts of a lake. This helps it avoid the warmer water near the lake shore.
What Lake Chubs Eat
The lake chub eats many different things. Its diet includes tiny water animals called zooplankton. It also eats insects and their young, which live in the water. Sometimes, it eats algae. The biggest lake chubs can even catch and eat small fish.
Because lake chubs are eaten by larger fish, they are sometimes used as bait for fishing.
Growth
In a place called Catamaran Brook in New Brunswick, Canada, lake chubs that were longer than 5 centimeters (2 inches) grew quickly. They grew about 0.8 centimeters (0.3 inches) each month during the summer.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
During the mating season, male lake chubs chase after females. Males that are ready to mate will charge at a female. This makes her swim upwards, sometimes even breaking the water surface. The male swims close to the female. If there are many males, they swim next to each other to try and get the female's attention.
While this is happening, the male's mouth opens and closes very fast. This continues until the female swims to a rock. Then, the male moves against her until she releases her eggs.
Lake chubs usually travel to different places to lay their eggs in early summer. The water temperature helps them decide when to start this journey. If the year is colder, they will start their journey later.
When they travel, the chubs leave their lakes and rivers. They swim up smaller streams that flow into them. In these streams, they mate and release their eggs over gravel or rocks. The parent fish do not take care of their eggs or young. During this journey, the fish mostly move during the evening and at night.
Behavior
Scientists have studied lake chubs in labs. They found that these fish have very precise daily rhythms, like a built-in clock. These rhythms are among the most accurate of any fish studied so far.
In the lab, these fish are usually active during the day. But in the wild, they can be active during the day, at dawn or dusk, or even at night.
The lake chub has large parts of its brain that control sight. This suggests it is good at finding food by seeing it. However, it can also find food at night. Studies have shown that lake chubs have better hearing than some other freshwater fish. These include sticklebacks, northern pikes, sculpins, and burbots.
Common Names
The lake chub is sometimes called by other names. These include northern chub, lake northern chub, chub minnow, plumbeus minnow, or bottlefish. In Quebec, Canada, its French name is "mené de lac."
It's important not to confuse the lake chub with certain types of cisco fish. These cisco fish live in Lake Michigan and are often called Michigan Lake chubs.
Different Types of Lake Chubs
Scientists have identified a few different types, or subspecies, of lake chub. These include C. p. plumbeus and C. p. greeni. There was once another type known as C. p. dissimilis, but that name is no longer used.
See also
In Spanish: Couesius plumbeus para niños
