•  
  •  
 

Keywords

leucistic blue catfish, Arkansas

Abstract

The Blue Catfish, Ictalurus furcatus (Lesueur), the largest North American ictalurid, inhabits deep watersheds, impoundments, and main channels and backwaters of medium to large rivers, over mud, sand, and gravelly substrate. Its native range includes the Mississippi River basin from western Pennsylvania to southern South Dakota and southwestern Nebraska south to the Gulf of Mexico and in Alabama, Florida, The Rio Grande drainage of Texas and New Mexico (Page and Burr 2011). In Arkansas, I. furcatus is found throughout the Arkansas, Red, and Mississippi river drainages and has been stocked by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission into reservoirs throughout the state (Robison and Buchanan 2020). This catfish is an omnivorous bottom feeder that primarily preys on fish, crayfish, aquatic insects, fingernail clams (and Corbicula), and freshwater mussels, including zebra mussels (Brown and Dendy 1961; Robison and Buchanan 2020).

Download

Share

COinS