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Yellow bullhead
Ameiurus natalis
Photo credit: Karsten
Hartel
Habitat requirements and life history:
The yellow bullhead is an introduced catfish species nearly
identifcal in size and habits to the brown bullhead or "horned
pout." It inhabits warm, shallow water in clear lakes, ponds,
rivers and impoundments. Yellow bullhead tolerate pollution
better than most catfishes. Like other catfish, they find
food using the scent-detecting cells imbedded in their skins,
particularly in their barbels or "whiskers," and around their
mouths. They usually feed on the bottom at night and are inactive
during the day. They eat plant matter, crayfishes, aquatic
insects, mollusks, and fishes. The yellow bullhead spawn in
the spring and summer. A pair excavates a nest in shallow
water among weeds, logs or other shelter, or burrow several
feet into a stream bank. The eggs are laid and fertilized.
After the eggs hatch, the male guards the larvae and juveniles
until they are about two inches long and ready to fend for
themselves. (Sources: Freshwater
Fishes of of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, & Delaware,
and Massachusetts Wildlife, No. 2, 2000, Special Fishing Issue)
Total length:
8 - 12 inches
Pollution tolerance (US EPA): Tolerant
Classification:
Macrohabitat generalist
Number of fish found during 1954 & 2001
Fish Surveys*
| Location |
No. of Fish 1954 |
No. of Fish 2001 |
| Assabet River |
|
89 |
| Assabet Brook |
|
37 |
| Elizabeth Brook |
|
3 |
| Fort Meadow Brook |
|
6 |
| Hop Brook |
|
2 |
| Nashoba Brook |
32 |
|
| Total |
32 |
137 |
*Data 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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