CATFISH FAMILY (Ameluridae) 

 BROWN BULLHEAD 



Ameiurus nebulosus (LeSueur) 



The brown bullhead is distributed from North Dakota into New England, 

 southward to the northern part of the Ohio Valley, and along the Atlantic Coast 

 to Virginia. These fish are commonly found in the weedy waters of lakes and 

 sluggish streams. Young and adults are largely nocturnal in their habits increas- 

 ing in activity with the approach of darkness. 



The brown bullhead spawns in the spring sometime in May or June al- 

 though ripe females are frequently taken after that date. Nests are usually 

 found near some shelter over sandy bottoms in shallow bays in water from 

 6 inches to 2 feet in depth. The adhesive eggs, a cream color, are laid in masses 

 similar to those of the frog. The incubation period lasts on an average of 3 to 

 5 days depending on the temperature. One or both of the parents remains to 

 guard the eggs and young. Besides warding oflF any intruders the parents are 

 supposed to fan the eggs. Observers report that in some cases the eggs are sucked 

 into the mouth of the parent and then blown out again. It is presumed these 

 operations serve in aerating the eggs as well as keeping them clean. The parent 

 fish remain with the schools of young until they reach a length of 1 to 2 inches. 

 The young remain together throughout the first summer and may be found in 

 relatively shallow waters invariably in vegetation or other suitable shelter and 

 usually over more or less muddy bottom. 



The first food of the young bullheads is entomostraca. As the fish grow 

 larger the size of organisms eaten increases through the larval stages of aquatic 

 insects. The stomachs of 44 bullheads from Maine waters contained mostly algae 

 and other plant remains, fish remains, bryozoans, and aquatic insects. They are 

 commonly taken a foot in length and up to a foot and a half rarely. 



PIKE FAMILY (Esocidae) 

 CHAIN PICKEREL 



Esox niger LeSueur 



The chain pickerel is distributed from New Brunswick to Florida and 

 southwest to Texas. Within the limits of its distribution it is commonly found in 

 quiet, weedy waters. The pickerel is one of the four abundant warm-water game 

 fishes in Maine. 



Chain pickerel are one of the first fishes to spawn in the spring when the 

 temperature reaches the vicinity of 47 F. The pickerel makes no nest merely 

 broadcasting the eggs in shallow water over the remains of dead vegetation 



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