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Homey-headed chub 



Homey-headed chub 



Nocomis biguttatus (Kirtland) 



General description. — Heavy robust minnow; blunt 

 nose; large scales clearly outlined; large diffuse 

 black spot at base of tail, tail-fin red in young; 

 small barbels at corners of mouth; body color usually 

 olivaceous; large tubercles on top of head and orange- 

 red spot behind eye of breeding males. 



The horny-headed chub is a minnow of large creeks 

 and small rivers, preferring swift waters and gravel 

 bottoms. It is found in the United States east of the 

 Rockies to the Hudson River. It is an excellent bait 

 fish, hardy on the hook or in storage tanks, and 

 attains large size. 



This chub spawns late in May and early in June on 

 gravelly riffles in 1 to 2 feet of water at 65° F. or 

 warmer. The nest is either a natural cavity in the 

 stream bottom or one fanned out by the fish. Mating 

 activities and stone-carrying into the nest by males 

 are alternated so that the pebbles and eggs are mixed 

 in the nest. The nest pile is large, often covering 

 several square feet of bottom, and 2 to 6 inches deep. 

 Each nest is occupied by a single male who probably 

 spawns with several females. These nest piles are often 

 used by common shiners at the same time, the males of 

 both species guarding the nest. The male attains a 

 maximum length of about 10 inches and the females are 

 smaller. This minnow requires several years to reach 

 maturity. 



The food of the horny-headed chub is mostly insect 

 larvae and crustaceans. A summary of several food 

 studies made in New York showed an average percentage 

 of the following food items: crayfish, 5.6; Way flies, 

 11.1; caddis flies, 2.8; chironomid larvae and pupae, 

 29.4; miscellaneous insects, 7.8; small beetles, 23.9; 

 algae, 13.9; and silt, 5.6. 



