Ictiobus cyprinellus
(Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1844)
Common Name:
Bigmouth Buffalo
Synonyms and Other Names:
gourd head, redmouth buffalo, buffalo fish, common buffalofish, buffalo, bernard buffalo, roundhead, brown buffalo, baldpate
Identification:
Largest member of the sucker family, deep-bodied and laterally compressed. Long dorsal fin like other suckers but has a large oblique terminal mouth with thin sucker lips. No barbells or spines. Pharyngeal teeth present, but no teeth in mouth. Gill rakers, each with many lateral projections, on both sides of the arch, those on the anterior edge of the first arch long, fine, closely spaced, at least 60 in number. Tail moderately long, very broad, moderately forked and with pointed tips. Easily confused with carp, but lacks the single serrated spine at the beginning of the dorsal fin that is present in carp. Eye level with the tip of the upper jaw. Green-gold to black with a coppery sheen. Further description found in Becker (1983); Hubbs et al. (1991); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993).
Size:
43-52 cm on average
Native Range:
Hudson Bay (Nelson River drainage), lower Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins from Ontario to Saskatchewan and Montana, and south to Louisiana (Page and Burr 1991). Occurs from Lake Erie south through Ohio and Mississippi River basins to the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, west to Arkansas, south to near the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, northwest through eastern Texas and Oklahoma (rare), north through Iowa and South Dakota to the Milk River in central Montana. From Illinois in the Mississippi River drainage northwest through western Minnesota and north in the Red River into Manitoba and west into Saskatchewan.
Great Lakes Nonindigenous Occurrences:
This species is in Lake Michigan, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie (Cudmore-Vokey and Crossman 2000; Bailey et al 2004) and Lake Ontario (NYSDEC 2015). Bigmouth buffalo have also invaded the province of Ontario through Lake Erie (Scott and Crossman 1998, Cudmore-Vokey and Crossman 2000) – first collected in Canadian waters of Lake Erie in 1957 (Scott 1957b).
Table 1. Great Lakes region nonindigenous occurrences, the earliest and latest observations in each state/province, and the tally and names of HUCs with observations†. Names and dates are hyperlinked to their relevant specimen records. The list of references for all nonindigenous occurrences of Ictiobus cyprinellus are found here.
Full list of USGS occurrences
Table last updated 5/2/2024
† Populations may not be currently present.
* HUCs are not listed for areas where the observation(s) cannot be approximated to a HUC (e.g. state centroids or Canadian provinces).
Ecology:
A demersal fish living near the lake bottom, Bigmouth Buffalo Inhabits main channels, pools, and backwaters of small to large rivers as well as lakes and impoundments. It prefers water less than 5m depth (Johnson 1963). This fish is well-adapted to reservoirs, preferring slow water and tolerant of turbidity, low oxygen and high temperatures. Unlike other suckers, this species eats plankton as well as benthos, feeding primarily on cladocera and cyclopoid copepods supplemented with midge larvae (Etnier and Starnes, 1993). Larger adults are probably not susceptible to predators due to their body shape.
This species is oviparous (Breder and Rosen 1966). Spawns in spring for a very short period (mid-May to June) at water temperatures 60-65F (15.5-18.3C) in small tributaries, marshes or flooded lake margins. Up to ~750,000 eggs per spawning female – eggs adhere to vegetation. Will hybridize with smallmouth buffalo (Johnson and Minckley 1969).
Great Lakes Means of Introduction:
Bigmouth Buffalo were introduced to western Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay around 1920 (Trautman 1981) by the federal government. The introduction in Big Lake, Wisconsin, is probably a result of a transplant associated with fish rescue operations from the Mississippi River in the 1930s (Becker 1983). The Lake Michigan drainage records may be the result of movement through the Wisconsin-Fox Canal.
Great Lakes Status:
Overwintering and reproducing in Lake Erie, with colonizing populations in Lakes Michigan and Ontario. It was reported in Cudmore-Vokey and Crossman (2000) as expanding northward into Canadian waters.
Great Lakes Impacts:
Ictiobus cyprinellus has a moderate environmental impact in the Great Lakes. This species is considered an ‘indiscriminate’ planktivore, consuming zooplankton within the appropriate size range in the same proportion as it was available, without selectivity (Starostka and Applegate 1970). Experimental manipulation revealed density-dependent top-down control on lower trophic levels by Ictiobus cyprinellus and the potential for cascading trophic interactions (Wilkinson et al 2022)
Ictiobus cyprinellus is a known host for a large number of native and non-native parasites (Osborn and Self 1966; Leiby et al., 1972), though the threat that this poses to native species remains uncertain.
There is little to no evidence to support that Ictiobus cyprinellus has significant socio-economic impacts in the Great Lakes.
Ictiobus cyprinellus has potential for moderate beneficial effects in the Great Lakes.
Ictiobus cyprinellus in the Mississippi River (where the species is native) serve as competitors to common, bighead and silver carp (Lackmann et al 2019). The fish is commercially valuable in the Mississippi River and has a high potential for economic value in pond aquaculture (Scott and Crossman 1998). Similarly, Bigmouth buffalo is a valued sportfish for night bowfishing in the Mississippi and Hudson drainages (Lackmann et al 2019).
Management:
Regulations (pertaining to the Great Lakes region)
Commercial harvests are regulated in many states. Although rarely caught via hook and line, state fishing regulations may apply. Note: Check federal, state/provincial, and local regulations for the most up-to-date information.
Control
Biological
There are no known biological control methods for this species.
Physical
Ditching and draining for farmlands, which eliminated shallow lakes, may have reduced Bigmouth Buffalo populations within their native range in the first half of the 20th century. The species is not listed as threatened or endangered in any region of its native or introduced distribution.
Chemical
There are no known chemical control methods specific to this species. General piscicides (such as rotenone) may be used for control, but expect significant kill of non-target species.
Note: Check state/provincial and local regulations for the most up-to-date information regarding permits for control methods.
Remarks:
In the early 1900s all three species of buffalofishes were stocked; I. bubalus, I. cyprinellus, and I. velifer (Leach 1921, 1923). However, when the stockings were reported they were lumped together as "buffalofish" and it is not possible to determine which species were planted. Stocking of buffalofishes occurred outside their native ranges in Lake Erie in Ohio, the Pee Dee and Catawba drainages in North Carolina, and in unknown locations in Massachusetts (Leach 1921, 1923).
References
(click for full reference list)
Author:
Fuller, P., and R. Sturtevant
Contributing Agencies:
Revision Date:
1/10/2024
Peer Review Date:
9/1/2014
Citation for this information:
Fuller, P., and R. Sturtevant, 2024, Ictiobus cyprinellus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1844): U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL, and NOAA Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System, Ann Arbor, MI, https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/greatLakes/FactSheet.aspx?Species_ID=362&Potential=N&Type=0&HUCNumber=DGreatLakes, Revision Date: 1/10/2024, Peer Review Date: 9/1/2014, Access Date: 5/2/2024
This information is preliminary or provisional and is subject to revision. It is being provided to meet the need for timely best science. The information has not received final approval by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and is provided on the condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government shall be held liable for any damages resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of the information.