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Bullhead minnow
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Subfamily:	Leuciscinae
Genus:	Pimephales
Species:	P. vigilax
Binomial name
	Pimephales vigilax; (S. F. Baird & Girard, 1853)
	Distribution of bullhead minnow in the United States, brown is indigenous range and red is non-indigenous range
Synonyms
	Alburnops taurocephalus Hay, 1881 ; Cliola velox Girard, 1856 ; Cliola vivax Girard, 1856 ; Cochlognathus biguttata Cope, 1880 ; Hyborhynchus perspicuus Girard, 1856 ; Pimephales vigilax subsp. perspicuus (Girard, 1856) ; Ceratichthys vigilax Baird & Girard, 1853 ; Cochlognathus ornatus Baird & Girard, 1853;

The bullhead minnow (Pimephales vigilax) is a species of freshwater demersal fish,^[3] native to the Mississippi River system in the United States, to tributaries of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and to northern Mexico.^[4]

History

The bullhead minnow was first described by Spencer Baird and Charles Girard in 1853.^[2]

Characteristics

The bullhead minnow is cylindrical and small in size, with an average length of 5.7 centimetres (2.2 in) and a maximum length of 9.2 centimetres (3.6 in).^[3] The males of the species are dark in color, brown, olive, or tan, with two light colored vertical lines down their side, while the females are plain in comparison.^{[citation needed]} The snout is rounded.^[5] There are eight total pharyngeal teeth distributed equally bilaterally. There is a dark spot present on the anterior dorsal fin.^[6] The tail is forked with rounded ends,^[7] with a dark spot present at the fin's base at the level of the lateral line.^[5] The single dorsal fin contains eight rays,^[7] with a dark spot present anteriorly^[5] and no spine.^[7] The anal fin contains seven rays with no spine, pelvic fins are abdominal and no adipose fin is present.^[7] The pectoral fins have a dark leading edge. The lateral line dips anteriorly.^[5]

Distribution

The bullhead minnow is mainly located in the southern United States, in the Gulf Coast of the United States and Mississippi River Basin. It can be found in the basin of the Mobile River, as well as connected backwaters, streams and rivers.^[5] They are found more often in waters that typically have little to no movement, such as in river pools.^[8] It is one of the 324 fish species found in Tennessee.^[9] They have been introduced to the Osage River and Kansas River systems in Kansas, to the Missouri in Nebraska, the Rio Grande in New Mexico, Lake St Marys in Ohio, the James drainage in South Dakota, the Red River, Canadian River and Rio Grande in Texas and to the upper Fox River and possibly the Menomonee River in Wisconsin. They were probably introduced to these areas as bait fish carried by anglers. It has also been introduced to Utah where it occurs in two closed drainages within the Great Basin, that of the Sevier River, where it seems to have been introduced accidentally in releases of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) imported from Texas in the 1950s, and of Lake Utah.^[4]

Biology

The spawning season extends from the middle of May through early September. They reproduce in an egg-clustering fashion. For a mating location, the males build a nest, normally protected by rocks, tree roots or limbs, or boards, The female lays eggs on the underside of the nest's structural associate, and the male guards and oxygenates the eggs throughout spawning.^[10] The male may also clean the eggs using its special dorsal spongy pad.^[8] There is currently no known age of maturation for this fish. They live an average of three to five years. They are a bottom-living species, and feed on organisms found in the mud covering the ground.^[10]

References

^ NatureServe; Daniels, A. (2019). "Pimephales vigilax". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T191293A130031492. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191293A130031492.en. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Pimephales vigilax (Baird & Girard, 1853)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Pimephales vigilax". FishBase. July 2011 version.
^ ^a ^b Leo Nico; R. Sturtevant (2023). "Pimephales vigilax (Baird and Girard, 1853)". Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database. Gainesville, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Mettee, Maurice F.; O'Neil, Patrick E.; Pierson, J. Malcolm (2023) [Originally published in 1996 in Fishes of Alabama and the Mobile Basin]. "Bullhead Minnow". Outdoor Alabama. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ "Bullhead Minnow". Iowa Fish Species. Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Bullhead Minnow". Fish ID. University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Bullhead Minnow - Pimephales vigilax". Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020.
^ "Tennessee Fish List". Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved 2011-06-23.
^ ^a ^b Hassan-Williams, Carla; Bonner, Timothy H. "Pimephales Vigilax: Bullhead Minnow". Texas Freshwater Fishes. Photographs by Chad Thomas. Texas State University - San Marcos Department of Biology. Retrieved 8 September 2023.