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in the Assabet Watershed
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Fallfish
Semotilus corporalis
Photo credit: Karsten
Hartel
Habitat requirements and life history:
The fallfish is native fish and a large member of the minnow
family. The fallfish prefers large streams and small rivers
with gravel, sand or rubble bottoms. They are also sometimes
found in silt-bottomed pools. Fallfish are rare in waters
that exceed 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Fallfish feed primarily
on insects and fishes. They spawn in the spring over gravel
in flowing streams. The male builds and defends stone mound
nests that can be over five feet in diameter. (Sources:
Freshwater Fishes of Canada and Freshwater Fishes of the
Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware)
Total length:
about 9 inches (MA record 19 inches)
Pollution tolerance (US EPA): Intermediate
tolerance
Classification:
Fluvial specialist
Number of fish found during 1954 &
2001 fish surveys:*
| Location |
No. of Fish 1954 |
No. of Fish 2001 |
| Assabet River |
133 |
83 |
| Danforth Brook |
30 |
|
| Fort Meadow Brook |
54 |
|
| Elizabeth Brook |
|
1 |
| Fort Meadow Brook |
|
1 |
| Great Brook |
16 |
|
| Hop Brook |
55 |
7 |
| Nashoba Brook |
4 |
|
| North Brook |
24 |
6 |
| Total |
316 |
98 |
*Sources:
Schlotterbeck, L.C. and W.A. Tompkins, 1954. "A
Fisheries Investigation of the Merrimack and Ipswich River Drainages."
Bureau of Wildlife Research and Management, Massachusetts Division
of Fisheries and Game.
DFW, 2001. Assabet Watershed Fish Survey. MA Department of
Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, MA.
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