120 NORTHERN FISHES 



GENUS Megastomatobiis (Fowler) 



This genus contains but one species, the characters of which serve for 

 the genus. 



BIGMOUTH BUFFALOFISH (Common Buffalofish, 

 Redmouth Buffalofish) 



Megastomatobus cyprinella (Valenciennes) 



The body of the common l)uffalofish (Figure 14) is elliptical in shape 

 and very robust. The head is large, with a blunt and broadly rounded 

 snout. The general color is an olive brown, more or less coppery along 

 the back and fading to a dull olive green on the sides and belly. The 

 mouth is large and wide; it is protractile forward and very oblique. The 

 upper lip is almost on a level with the lower margin of the orbit. The 

 upper lip is very thin and nearly smooth. The lower lip is thicker and 

 faintly but finely striated. The gill-rakers of the first arch, counted from 

 the posterior face, number nearly 100. The dorsal fin has from 24 to 28 

 rays. The scales are large, those in the lateral line numbering 37-40. 



The bigmouth. buffalofish ranges from North Dakota to Lake Erie 

 and southward to Alabama and Texas. The distribution of these fishes 

 in Minnesota is peculiar. At one time there were countless numbers 

 in the southern lakes, many of which have now become dry. Originally 

 present in the Mississippi drainage below Brainerd, they reached the 

 Red River of the North from the Minnesota River through Big Stone 

 Lake and Lake Traverse. Hubbs and Lagler (1941) reported them at 

 Winnipeg. 



Buffalofish apparently became landlocked in the Upper Mississippi 

 River at Brainerd about 40 years ago, and age determinations show that 

 they very seldom reproduced. One example over 4 feet long weighed 65 

 pounds. This landlocked form probably is responsible for reports of 

 buffalofish in lakes and in the Mississippi River near Grand Rapids. 

 Greene (1935) reported this species as uncommon in Wisconsin and as 

 reaching its northern limit in the southern part of that state. 



Buffalofish prefer sluggish waters, for they feed largely on mollusks, 

 insect larvae, and vegetation. The spawning season extends from the 

 later part of April into June; the eggs are deposited among dead vegeta- 

 tion in shallow bays and sloughs, where they adhere to plants and 

 other debris until hatched, which occurs at approximately 62° F. after 

 a period of 9 or 10 days. 



Jordan and Evermann (1005) stated that in former years in certain 

 lakes of central and southern Minnesota extraordinary runs of very 

 large bufTalofish occurred occasionally. These runs took place in the 

 spring, at spawning time, usually after a heavy rain, when the tributary 

 streams were full and the connecting marshes were flooded. The buffalo- 

 fish crowded in great numbers into the inlets and over the flooded 



