Nocomis leptocephalus
Bluehead Chub
NS
G5
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cypriniformes (Carps and Minnows)
Cyprinidae (Carps and Minnows)
Nocomis
Nocomis leptocephalus (Bluehead Chub)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: elongated.
Distribution
North America: Atlantic and Gulf Slope drainages from Shenandoah River in Virginia to Mississippi River in Mississippi; tributaries of Mississippi River north to Yazoo River system in Mississippi; upper New River drainage in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, USA; Bear Creek (Tennessee River drainage) in Alabama and Mississippi. Introduced into Little Tennessee River and French Broad systems in North Carolina and Tennessee, USA.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. demersal. Found in: streams.
Biology
Inhabits rocky and sandy pools and runs of headwaters, creeks, and small to medium rivers (Ref. 86798).
Max length: 26.0 cm TL; common length: 12.0 cm TL; max age: 4 years.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-03-01. Resilience: Medium (tmax=4).
References
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (2011) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p.
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