Sturgeon chub facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sturgeon chub |
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The sturgeon chub (Macrhybopsis gelida) is a type of minnow fish. It's a ray-finned fish, which means it has fins supported by bony spines. This fish is only found in the United States. It's considered a "species of concern" in places like the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. This means scientists are keeping a close eye on it because its numbers might be getting low.
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Names and History
The sturgeon chub was first discovered and described in 1856 by a scientist named Charles Frédéric Girard. He found the first one in the Milk River in Montana.
Girard first named this fish Gobio gelidus. Later, in 1900, its name was changed to Hybopsis gelidus. Then, in 1935, it was changed again to Macrhybopsis gelidus. Scientists sometimes change names as they learn more about how different species are related.
What Does It Look Like?
The sturgeon chub is a thin, smooth fish. It has a long, flat snout that looks a bit like a sturgeon's snout. This is how it got its name! Adult sturgeon chubs usually grow to be about 3 inches (7.6 cm) long.
This fish has a small whisker-like part called a barbel near the corner of its mouth. It also has tiny bumps on its throat. The scales on its back and sides have a small ridge, like a "keel" on a boat. Scientists aren't sure why it has this keel. It might help the fish stay steady in fast water or help it feel the currents.
The sturgeon chub has small eyes and doesn't see very well. Its color changes from silvery-white on its belly to silvery on its sides. Its back is light brown. The tail is deeply split, and the bottom part is darker than the top part. Its body fins are shaped like triangles, with slightly rounded, straight edges.
Where Does It Live and What Does It Eat?
The sturgeon chub lives in murky (cloudy) river bottoms where the water flows quickly over gravel. You can find it in the Missouri River and its main branches. It also lives in the lower Mississippi River in Mississippi and Louisiana, and in some streams in northeastern Wyoming.
Not much is known about what the sturgeon chub eats. However, it does have teeth in its throat. Its body is covered with taste buds, which help it find food. It often lives in places where there aren't many other small fish. But sometimes, it can be found with other fish like the flathead chub, sicklefin chub, and speckled chub.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Male and female sturgeon chubs look very similar. Their colors don't change when they are ready to breed. However, during breeding season, male sturgeon chubs grow small bumps called tubercles behind their gills.
The sturgeon chub lays its eggs on gravel or clean sand to reproduce. They likely breed in June.
Challenges to Their Home
Human activities have changed many of the sturgeon chub's homes. For example, more silt (fine dirt) in the water and the building of dams have caused problems. Dams make the water slow down, which causes silt to settle. This destroys the fast-flowing, gravelly places where the sturgeon chub likes to live.
The sturgeon chub is still common in the middle part of the Missouri River. But in other places, it has become rare. In 2001, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) estimated that the sturgeon chub only lived in about 59 percent of the areas it used to call home.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Macrhybopsis gelida. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 19 July 2007.
See also
In Spanish: Macrhybopsis gelida para niños
