Global InformationBigmouth buffalo information
| Bigmouth buffalo | |
|---|---|
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| Bigmouth buffalo male | |
Conservation status
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 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Catostomidae |
| Genus: | Ictiobus |
| Species: | I. cyprinellus
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| Binomial name | |
| Ictiobus cyprinellus (Valenciennes, 1844)
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| Synonyms | |
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The bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) is a fish native to North America that is in decline.[2][3][4][5] It is the largest North American species in the Catostomidae or "sucker" family, and is one of the longest-lived and latest-maturing freshwater fishes, capable of living 127 years and reproducing infrequently.[4][5][3] Even at a century old they show no age-related declines, but instead improvements relative to younger individuals, making this species a biological marvel.[6][7][8] It is commonly called the gourdhead, marblehead, redmouth buffalo, buffalofish, bernard buffalo, roundhead, or brown buffalo.[9] The bigmouth buffalo is not a carp, nor is any other fish in the sucker family. Although they share the same order, each belong to different suborders and are native to separate continents.
The bigmouth buffalo is typically a brownish olive color with dusky fins, but can vary greatly in color across individuals including melanistic, golden, and even xanthic color morphs.[10][11] Like other catostomids it has a long dorsal fin, but unlike all other extant species it has a terminal (forward-facing) mouth reflecting its unique, pelagic feeding ecology. It is the largest of the buffalofishes and can reach a length of more than 4 ft (1.2 m) and 80 lb (36 kg) in weight. Generally it lives in lakes, or in sluggish areas of large rivers. Bigmouth buffalo populations have been in decline in the northern extent of their range since the 1970s, including Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada.[2][3][4][5]
A 2019 study documented their late maturity, centenarian longevity, and that several populations in northwestern Minnesota are composed mainly (85–90%) of individuals more than 80 years old, indicating recruitment failure since the 1930s.[3] This newfound life history information published in 2019 defied pre-conceived notions of the species.[3] A 2021 study from North Dakota also revealed a slow pace of life including late maturity, decadal episodic recruitment, declining population, and a relatively large group of old-growth individuals.[4] A 2022 study from Saskatchewan, Canada revealed remarkable tendencies of the bigmouth buffalo including a supercentenarian lifespan, skip-spawning related to water levels, proximate mechanisms underlying failed recruitment, extreme episodic recruitment, and late maturity[5]—all characteristics that make this species extremely vulnerable to overfishing, habitat degradation, and invasive species. Indeed, bigmouth buffalo are declining in Canada,[5] and have been in steep decline in contiguous areas of the US, temporally associated with the rise of modern wasteful bowfishing in the 21st century.[4][12][13] Their life history attributes, including the ability to survive several decades with no successful recruitment (i.e. episodic recruitment), are more pronounced than other long-lived freshwater fishes, including sturgeon and paddlefish.[4][3] Such long-lived species require time to successfully sustain themselves by surviving to periods in which favorable environmental conditions arise for booms in reproduction and subsequent recruitment.[14] Unregulated, unmanaged and wasteful lethal fisheries are not compatible with their biology, yet such fisheries exist in the United States and the species is declining.[3][4] Canada on the other hand, has long-enforced protections for bigmouth buffalo.[5]
- ^ NatureServe (2013). "Ictiobus cyprinellus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202127A18234087. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202127A18234087.en. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
- ^ a b Eddy, Samuel; Underhill, James C. (1974). Northern Fishes: With Special Reference to the Upper Mississippi Valley (Third ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816606749. JSTOR 10.5749/j.ctttt6n9.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lackmann, Alec R.; Andrews, Allen H.; Butler, Malcolm G.; Bielak-Lackmann, Ewelina S.; Clark, Mark E. (2019-05-23). "Bigmouth Buffalo Ictiobus cyprinellus sets freshwater teleost record as improved age analysis reveals centenarian longevity". Communications Biology. 2 (1): 197. doi:10.1038/s42003-019-0452-0. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 6533251. PMID 31149641.
- ^ a b c d e f g Lackmann, Alec R.; Kratz, Brandon J.; Bielak-Lackmann, Ewelina S.; Jacobson, Reed I.; Sauer, Derek J.; Andrews, Allen H.; Butler, Malcolm G.; Clark, Mark E. (2021-04-09). "Long-lived population demographics in a declining, vulnerable fishery — bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) of Jamestown Reservoir, North Dakota". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 78 (10): 1486–1496. doi:10.1139/cjfas-2020-0485. S2CID 234864913.
- ^ a b c d e f Lackmann, Alec R.; Sereda, Jeff; Pollock, Mike; Bryshun, Reid; Chupik, Michelle; McCallum, Katlin; Villeneuve, James; Bielak-Lackmann, Ewelina S.; Clark, Mark E. (2022-10-17). "Bet-hedging bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) recruit episodically over a 127-year timeframe in Saskatchewan". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 80 (2): 313–329. doi:10.1139/cjfas-2022-0122. S2CID 252988048.
- ^ Sauer, Derek J.; Heidinger, Britt J.; Kittilson, Jeffrey D.; Lackmann, Alec R.; Clark, Mark E. (2021-04-27). "No evidence of physiological declines with age in an extremely long-lived fish". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 9065. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.9065S. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88626-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 8079698. PMID 33907285.
- ^ "These fish live beyond 100—and get healthier as they age". Premium. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ Seo, Hannah (2023-11-10). "Century-old buffalofish are still living in their prime". Popular Science. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
- ^ Fuller, P.; Sturtevant, R. (8 November 2019). "Ictiobus cyprinellus (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1844)". U.S. Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Gainesville, Florida. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ Chaudry, Zekriah (14 April 2019). "Minnesota angler's mysterious 'giant goldfish' helps shed light on species". Boreal Community Media. The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ Lackmann, Alec R.; Black, Stuart A.; Bielak-Lackmann, Ewelina S.; Lackmann, Jeffrey A. (2023-10-20). "Centenarian lifespans of three freshwater fish species in Arizona reveal the exceptional longevity of the buffalofishes (Ictiobus)". Scientific Reports. 13 (1): 17401. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-44328-8. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 10589290.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:14was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Montague, Graham F.; Schooley, Jason D.; Scarnecchia, Dennis L.; Snow, Richard A. (August 2023). "Bowfishing shoot and release: High short‐term mortality of nongame fishes and its management implications". North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 43 (4): 962–983. doi:10.1002/nafm.10904. ISSN 0275-5947.
- ^ Winemiller, Kirk O.; Rose, Kenneth A. (1992-10-01). "Patterns of Life-History Diversification in North American Fishes: implications for Population Regulation". Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 49 (10): 2196–2218. doi:10.1139/f92-242. ISSN 0706-652X.