Smallmouth buffalo

Overview

The smallmouth buffalo is a catostomid fish species native to the major tributaries and surrounding waters of the Mississippi River in the United States, as well as some other water systems where it has been introduced. It is a long-lived, stocky fish like its relatives the bigmouth buffalo and the black buffalo. The smallmouth buffalo's mouth is located ventrally like other Catostomidae species, whereas the bigmouth buffalo's mouth is terminal and opens forward. It is thought that smallmouth buffalo eyes are significantly larger than those of the black buffalo. Despite being members of different scientific suborders, these three species are sometimes conflated with common carp, but an easy and notable difference is that all catostomids lack the characteristic barbels of carp, and carp are not native to North America whereas buffalofish are. The smallmouth buffalo is recently realized as one of the longest-lived fishes, capable of living more than a century. The smallmouth buffalo is in decline across large portions of its range, and is subject to unregulated exploitation. Like the other buffalofish species, the smallmouth buffalo is targeted by modern bowfishing.

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