Ameiurus natalis

Geographic Range

Yellow bullhead ( Ameiurus natalis ) range throughout the eastern United States, extending north to southeastern Canada and west to the Great Plains and Rio Grande drainage; they are introduced elsewhere (Etnier and Starnes, 1993).

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native

Habitat

Yellow bullhead prefer backwaters with slow current in rivers and streams. They can be found in the shallow parts of streams, lakes, ponds, or large bays. Habitat varies from a slow current with poorly oxygenated, highly silted, and highly polluted water to a more swift current with clean and clear water that has aquatic vegetation. Yellow bullhead are bottom dwellers, living in areas with muck, rock, sand, or clay substrates.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• freshwater freshwater

• Aquatic Biomes
• benthic benthic
• lakes and ponds
• rivers and streams
• temporary pools

Physical Description

Yellow bullhead are ray-finned fish that lack scales. The dorsal part of the body can be yellow to olive, brown, mottled gray, or black. The belly is usually a yellow color. The caudal fin is rounded and unforked. Anal fin rays number 24 to 28; 25 to 26 is most common. Yellow bullhead may live to be 7 years old, and grow up to 45.7 to 48.3 centimeters long and weigh up to 3.2 kilograms.

Yellow bullhead are similar to black ( Ameiurus melas ) and brown ( Ameiurus nebulosus ) bullhead. They differ from these two species in that they have white or yellow chin barbels. Both black and brown bullhead have some dark pigmentation on the chin barbels. Fins and colorations are similar among the three species.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Development

Yellow bullhead eggs hatch five to ten days after fertilization. The male yellow bullhead guards the nest during this period. Upon hatching, the young fry are herded into tight schools by the male and protected until they are approximately two inches long. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of 2 and 3 years, when the fish are at least 140 mm in length.

Reproduction

Yellow bullhead males dig nests, which may range from a shallow depression in muddy sediment to a deep burrow in the stream bank. Protected nest sites near rocks and stumps with dense vegetation are preferred. Nest sites attract females for mating.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Yellow bullhead spawn from April until June, beginning when water temperatures reach 23 to 28 degrees Celsius. The female produces 300 to 700 sticky yellowish eggs per spawning act, and the nest can contain 1700 to 4300 eggs in total.

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • external external
• oviparous oviparous

Both the male and female help in the construction of the nest and while the young are in the nest one of the parents will guard them. After the fry hatch the male herds the young into a dense ball and will protect them until they grow to two inches long.

• Parental Investment
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
  • protecting
    • female
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • male
• pre-independence
  • protecting
    • male

Lifespan/Longevity

Yellow bullheads have a 7 year life span in the wild.

Behavior

Not much is known about the behavior of yellow bullheads. They are highly social and feed primarily at night.

• Key Behaviors
• natatorial natatorial
• nocturnal nocturnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary

Home Range

At this time their is no information on home range in yellow bullheads.

Communication and Perception

Atema et al. (1969) and Todd (1971) have indicated that yellow bullheads are a very social fish and can recognize other individuals and their social status by their smell. The olfactory apparatus (i.e., nose) is responsible for this ability, while the barbels and other dermal taste buds are used for locating food (Etnier and Etnier, 2005).

Taste buds are found in the mouth and all over the body. Yellow bullheads have 5 taste buds every 5 mm² on their body surface. The barbels serve as both an external tongue and hands. Bullheads can feel with their body and their barbels. They also have 20,000 taste buds on the eight whiskers. The average adult has a total of over 200,000 taste buds on its body.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

• Perception Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Like all other catfish species, yellow bullheads are opportunistic feeders. Yellow bullheads feed at night. They have been known to eat minnows, crayfish, insects and insect larvae, aquatic invertebrates, and worms. Compared to the other two bullheads, the yellow bullheads consume more aquatic vegetation. The young will feed on aquatic invertebrates.

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods
  • molluscivore molluscivore

• Animal Foods
• fish
• carrion carrion
• insects
• mollusks
• terrestrial worms
• aquatic crustaceans

• Plant Foods
• macroalgae macroalgae

• Other Foods
• detritus detritus

Predation

Yellow bullheads are preyed upon by larger fish such as largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), black crappie ( Pomoxis nigromaculatus ), bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ) and other catfish. Large wading birds and some turtles will also take the adults. The young will be taken by smaller predators, aquatic invertebrates, leeches, and crayfish. They can inflict venomous stings with their pectoral spines, helping them to avoid predation.

Ecosystem Roles

Yellow bullheads have been found to be a host species for creepers ( Strophitus undulatus ) and they are parasitized by leeches ( Hirudinea ).

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Yellow bullheads are not considered to be a game fish, but they are widely sought after for food. Yellow bullheads also can be introduced into streams with high pollution because of their high tolerance to pollution.

• Positive Impacts
• food food

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Bullheads are very well known for the ability to inflict a sting with their pectoral spines. The pain can last for a week or more. The sting is caused by small glands near their fins that produce a poison which causes the swelling. The pain can be dulled by dabbing ammonia on the wound.

• Negative Impacts
• injures humans
  • bites or stings

Conservation Status

Yellow bullheads are not known to have any specific conservation status.

Other Comments

( Ameiurus natalis ) is translated in Latin meaning "primitive or curtailed" for Ameiurus , in reference to the notch in the distal end of the caudal fin, and natalis meaning "having large buttocks".

Other common names of yellow bullheads are polliwog, chucklehead cat, butter cat, yellow cat, creek cat, white-whiskered bullhead, and greaser.

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

BioKIDS Critter Catalog

Contributors

Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.

Gabe Jenkins (author), Eastern Kentucky University, Sherry Harrel (editor, instructor), Eastern Kentucky University.

References

Armstrong, P. 1962. Stages in the Development of Ictalurus nebulosus . Syracuse, New York: Syracuse Univeristy Press.

Atema, J., J. Todd, J. Bardach. 1969. Olfaction and taste: Proceedings of the third international symposium . New York, New York: Rockefeller Univ. Press.

Atema, J. 1971. Structures and Functions of the Sense of Taste in the Catfish (Ictalurus natalis). Brain, Behavior and Evolution , 4: 273-294.

Eddy, S., J. Underhill. 1974. Northern Fishes, 3rd Ed. . Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Eddy, S., T. Surber. 1943. Northern Fishes . Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Etnier, D., E. Etnier. 2005. "Yellow bullhead" (On-line). Discover Life in America. Accessed October 31, 2005 at http://www.dlia.org/atbi/species/animals/vertebrates/fish/Ictaluridae/A_natalis.shtml .

Etnier, D., W. Starnes. 1993. The Fishes of Tennesse . Knoxville, Tennesee: Univeristy of Tennesse Press.

Gray, E., W. Lellis, J. Cole, C. Johnson. 2001. Host Identification for Strophitus undulatus (Bivalvia: Unionidae), the Creeper, in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania. The American Midland Naturalist , Vol. 147, No. 1: 153-161. Accessed November 30, 2005 at http://www.bioone.org/bioone/?request=get-document&issn=0003-0031&volume=147&issue=01&page=0153 .

Hubbs, C., K. Lagler. 1958. Fishes of the Great Lakes Region . Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Klossner, M. 2005. "No Bull" (On-line). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Accessed October 15, 2005 at http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/1998/oct98/bull.htm .

Trautman, M. 1981. The Fishes of Ohio . Columbus, Ohio: Ohio St. University Press.

2005. "Ameiurus natalis (LeSueur)" (On-line). Kansas Fishes. Accessed October 15, 2005 at http://www.kansasfishes.com/Pages/yellowbullhead.htm .

2005. "Life History Notes: Bullhead" (On-line). Ohio Division of Wildlife. Accessed October 15, 2005 at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/Fishing/aquanotes-fishid/bullhead.htm .

2005. "Yellow Bullhead (Ameiurus natalis)" (On-line). Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Accessed October 10, 2005 at http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/ybh/ .

"Yellow Bullhead" (On-line). Accessed October 31, 2005 at http://www.landbigfish.com/fish/fish.cfm?ID=21 .

2005. "Yellow Bullhead" (On-line). Ohio Division of Natural Areas &Preserves. Accessed October 31, 2005 at http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/StratforkLandingES/Ecology.mpages.yellow_bullhead.htm .