BLACKNOSE DACE 



shape at the base of the tail, no red 

 on the caudal fin, and in its prefer- 

 ence for larger rivers. 



Range. — The river chub is found 

 in the eastern United States from 

 New York to Virginia and in the 

 Tennessee River drainage in 

 Georgia and Alabama, and north- 

 ward to southern Michigan. 



Breeding habits. — The life his- 

 tory of the river chub is similar to 

 that of the hornyhead chub. Ex- 

 cellent descriptions of the breeding 

 habits of this chub have been writ- 

 ten by Michigan investigators. Ac- 

 cording to their observations, the 

 male first digs a pit 12 to 15 inches 

 in diameter and 3 to 6 inches deep 

 in the streambed in water less than 

 2 feet deep. Stones are removed by 

 being carried away in the mouth. 

 The male then fills the pit again 

 with other stones until a heap of 

 large pebbles, 30 inches across and 



3 inches high, is accumulated — all 

 in 2 to 5 days. Small spawning 

 troughs are then made by the male 

 in the surface of this stone pile to 

 receive eggs and milt as they drop 

 from the spawning fish above. The 

 troughs are filled again with peb- 

 bles immediately after spawning. 

 Common sliiners, hornyhead chubs, 

 and stonerollers may use the stone 

 pile for a spawning place at the 

 same time. 



Food. — The feeding habits of the 

 river chub are probably very simi- 

 lar to those of the hornyhead chub. 

 The two species were thought to be 

 the same for many years and very 

 little work has been done on them 

 separately. 



Importance. — The river chub is 

 [)robably as important a bait fish 

 as the hornyhead chub, and most 

 dealers do not distinguish between 

 them. 



BLACKNOSE DACE Rh/nichf/iys atratulus 



Also called Slicker. 





m^,m 





LIFE HISTORY 



Description. — A c t i v e , stream- 

 lined minnow, usually under 3 

 inches in length; color dusky or 

 black above with pronounced freck- 

 les or dark spots over top and sides 



of body; black streak on side of 

 body, extending forward through 

 eye and snout; scales small but 

 easily seen; small barbel clearly 

 visible at each corner of moutli espe- 

 cially when the mouth is opened; 



105 



