Horned pout
| Brown bullhead | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Ictaluridae |
| Genus: | Ameiurus |
| Species: | A. nebulosus |
| Binomial name | |
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Ameiurus nebulosus Lesueur, 1819 |
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| Synonyms | |
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Ictalurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819) |
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Ictalurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)
Pimelodus nebulosus Lesueur, 1819
The brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) is a fish of the Ictaluridae family that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) and yellow bullhead (Ameiurus natalis). It was originally described as Pimelodus nebulosus by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1819, and is also referred to as Ictalurus nebulosus.
The brown bullhead is also widely known as the "mud pout," "horned pout," "hornpout," or simply "mud cat," along with the other bullhead species.
The brown bullhead is important as a clan symbol of the Ojibwe group of Native Americans. In their tradition, the bullhead or "wawaazisii" is one of six beings that came out of the sea to form the original clans. The Brown Bullhead attains a length of up to 21 in (53 cm).
The brown bullhead grows to be approximately 21 inches in length and is darker brown green dorsally growing lighter green and yellow towards the ventral surface. The belly is off white or cream, and the fish has an absence of scales. Additionally there is the presence of darker brown black speckles along the entire surface of the fish. The brown bullhead has two dorsal fins, a single adipose fin, abdominal pelvic fins, and an anal fin with 21 to 24 rays. The tail is only slightly notched having dorsal and ventral lobes angling inward. The fish has barbs present around the mouth and on the pelvic spine. The barbels around the mouth are black to yellowish brown on the chin and saw like on the pelvic spines. Juvenile brown bullheads are similar in appearance but have an increased likelihood of being a single solid color. The brown bullhead has a slightly subterminal mouth with the upper jaw extending slightly past the lower jaw. The mouth is in the inferior position to enable bottom feeding. The brown bullhead may also be distinguished from other similar species by its absence of a tooth patch on its upper jaw with the lateral backwards extensions. Adult brown bullheads range in size from 200mm to 500mm and weigh between 0.5 kg to 3.6 kg in extreme situations. Behaviorally, brown bullheads are ectothermic, heterothermic, and bilaterally symmetrical. Brown bullheads can be distinguished from black and yellow bullheads with their yellow- black chin barbels, missing bar at the base of tail present in black bullheads, and 21-24 anal fin rays.
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Wikipedia