Noturus hildebrandi
Least Madtom
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Siluriformes (Catfishes)
Ictaluridae (North American Catfishes)
Noturus
Noturus hildebrandi (Least Madtom)
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. Body slender; head flat. Adipose fin white or clear; pectoral fin short with 4-5 large sawlike teeth on rear edge; absence or presence of small teeth on front edge; rear edge of caudal fin straight or with slightly rounded corners; adipose and caudal fins broadly joined with tiny notch between. Color geographically variable. There are 2 subspecies: Noturus hildebrandi latus with shorter head and with 4 white or light yellow oval areas on uniform red-brown to black back; is strongly bicolored with brown to black upper side, white or yellow below. Noturus hildebrandi hildebrandi possesses longer head and prominently blotched color pattern above and almost to belly (Ref. 86798).
Distribution
North America: tributaries of Mississippi River from North Fork Obion River in southwestern Kentucky to Homochitto River in southern Mississippi, USA.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater. demersal. Found in: streams.
Biology
Inhabits mixed rock and sand riffles and runs of clear lowland creeks and small rivers. Often found near debris (Ref. 5723, 86798). Feeds on midge and caddis larvae, together with mayfly and stonefly nymphs (Ref. 10294).
Max length: 6.9 cm TL; common length: 3.7 cm TL.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2012-03-01. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
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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