Speckled madtom facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Speckled madtom |
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The speckled madtom (Noturus leptacanthus) is a small freshwater fish. It lives in rivers and streams in the southeastern United States. This fish belongs to a group called Noturus, which are part of the Ictaluridae family, also known as catfish.
Contents
What Does the Speckled Madtom Look Like?
The speckled madtom has a dark reddish-brown body. Its tail fin, called a caudal fin, looks dusky or spotted with a light border. Most speckled madtoms are about 1.5 to 2 inches (39 to 50 mm) long. The biggest one ever found was about 4.3 inches (110 mm) long!
Where Does the Speckled Madtom Live?
You can find the speckled madtom in many places across the southeastern United States. They are common in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In Tennessee, they are mainly found in the Conasauga River system.
They also live in rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. These rivers stretch from the Edisto River in South Carolina to the Amite-Comite River system in Louisiana. The southernmost place they live is the St. Johns River system in Florida.
How the Speckled Madtom Lives
The speckled madtom likes to live in small to medium-sized streams. They often hang out in very shallow, fast-moving parts of the stream called riffles. These areas usually have sandy, rocky, or gravel bottoms.
What Does It Eat?
During the day, speckled madtoms rest in areas with water plants like pondweed or burweed. But they are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night. They leave their resting spots after sunset to find food. They keep eating until sunrise.
Their diet is mostly insect larvae, especially tiny midge larvae. They use their special sensory barbels (whiskers) to find food in the dark. Their eyesight is not very important for hunting.
Who Are Its Neighbors and Predators?
Other types of Noturus fish often compete with the speckled madtom for food and space. The main animals that hunt the speckled madtom are the rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) and larger Noturus species.
To protect themselves, all Noturus fish have a mild venomous sting. This sting comes from their pectoral spines, which are sharp bones near their fins. The speckled madtom's sting is not very strong.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
The speckled madtom lays its eggs, a process called spawning, from May through August. This happens when the water temperature is between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit (20 to 24 degrees Celsius).
Eggs and Young
The speckled madtom is one of the least fecund (meaning it lays few eggs) freshwater fish in North America. They usually lay two groups of eggs each year. Each group, called a clutch, has only 14 to 45 eggs.
Even though they lay few eggs, their eggs are very large for their body size. Each egg is about 0.2 inches (5.5 mm) wide. Scientists believe that having large eggs helps make up for the small number of eggs. Large eggs mean the baby fish, called larvae, are big and well-developed when they hatch.
Growth and Lifespan
By the time they are one year old, speckled madtoms are about 1.5 inches (39 mm) long. At two years old, they reach about 2 inches (50 mm). They are ready to reproduce by their second summer. The speckled madtom usually lives for about 2.5 to 3 years.
Nesting Habits
Speckled madtoms are known to build their nests inside old cans and bottles that people have thrown away. The male fish cleans out any dirt or silt from the can or bottle. Then, he guards the eggs without eating for about 2.5 weeks until they hatch.
Conservation Status
The number of speckled madtoms seems to be stable across the areas where they live. There are no big threats known that are causing their population to drop.
One study even found more speckled madtoms in areas near farms. This is interesting because farming can sometimes harm other species due to runoff (water carrying chemicals from fields). Currently, no special groups are actively working to protect this specific fish.
See also
In Spanish: Noturus leptacanthus para niños
