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NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
Common Name: northern studfish
Identification: Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994); Pflieger (1997).
Size: 18 cm.
Native Range:
Upper East Fork White River system, Indiana; upper Salt and Kentucky River drainages, Kentucky; upper Green, middle, and lower Cumberland, and Tennessee River drainages, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi; west of Mississippi River (primarily Ozark and Ouachita uplands) in central and southern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, and southern Arkansas; southwestern Mississippi in Mississippi (Coles Creek, Homochitto River, and Buffalo Bayou) and Gulf Slope drainages (Amite River and Pearl River) (Page and Burr 1991). Recently reported from the Amity River in Louisiana (Warren and Denette 1992).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: This species was introduced into several streams in Kentucky including the Big Sandy, Beech Fork, Rolling Fork, Dix, Middle Creek, Rockhouse Fork, and Licking rivers, and Cave Run Lake (Branson and Batch 1971; Burr and Page 1986; Burr and Warren 1986). Possibly introduced into several sites in Missouri including the Elk River system in extreme southwest part of state (Pflieger 1971, 1975); it may also have been introduced to selected streams along the northern periphery of the Missouri Ozarks (Pflieger 1997). Hall (1956) suggested that the presence of this species in streams of northeastern Oklahoma in the Neosho drainage may be the result of introductions. This species was taken from Middle Grave Creek, Marshall County, West Virginia in 1987 (Cincotta et al. 1990).
Means of Introduction: Bait bucket transfer may be responsible for most of the introductions in Kentucky, although some may be a result of stream capture (Burr and Warren 1986). The Oklahoma introductions is believed to be the result of a bait introduction prior to 1954 (Hall 1956). This species was not taken from the Elk River drainage of Missouri until the 1960s, and Pflieger (1997) concluded that these populations represent range extensions and are descended from northern studfish originally introduced into northeastern Oklahoma streams. In West Virginia, the introductions may have been a result of bait bucket release, aquarium release, or pond escape (Cincotta et al. 1990).
Status: Established or possibly established in Middle Creek, Rockhouse Fork, and Licking rivers, Kentucky. Collected elsewhere in Kentucky (Burr and Warren 1986). Established in Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Seven individuals were collected in West Virginia and the size distribution of these specimens indicate reproduction had occurred (Cincotta et al. 1990).
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: Stauffer et al. (1995) listed species as native to Middle Grave Creek in West Virginia. Although it was present in 1987, surveys in this same area in 1982 failed to find this species (Cincotta et al. 1990), suggesting an introduction.
Branson, B. A., and D. L. Batch. 1971. Stream capture in Kentucky indicated by distributional records of Fundulus catenatus and Etheostoma spectabile. American Midland Naturalist 86:496-500.
Burr, B. M., and M. L. Warren, Jr. 1986. A distributional atlas of Kentucky fishes. Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission Scientific and Technical Series 4. 398 pp.
Hall, G. E. 1956. Additions to the fish fauna of Oklahoma with a summary of introduced species. Southwestern Naturalist 1(1):16-26.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 10/2/2000 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Fundulus catenatus. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=683> Revision Date: 10/2/2000
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