Stonecat
Noturus flavus, the stonecat, is a North American freshwater catfish of the family Ictaluridae. The common name is due to its habit of hiding near or under stones in fast-moving water.
The genus name Noturus, meaning "back tail", refers to the fusion of the adipose and caudal fins. The specific epithet flavus meaning "yellow", refers to the color distinction.
No
NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
Pi
PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
In
InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
Ca
CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
Ov
OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Mo
MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
No
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
N
starts withThe stonecat has a widespread distribution. Stonecats exist in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River, drainages of Hudson Bay, and the Mississippi River basin. Stonecats can also be found from the Hudson River drainage of New York west to the Red River drainage of Hudson Bay. Stonecats inhabit the drainage of the Mississippi River basin from Quebec to Alberta, southerly to northern Alabama and Mississippi and westerly to northeastern Oklahoma. In Colorado, stonecats are present in St. Vrain Creek near Longmont, Colorado and in the Republican River south of Wray, Colorado.
Stonecats live in freshwater environments, and are found from large creeks to small rivers. They occasionally are found in tiny creeks, or rivers as large as the Lower Mississippi. Stonecats occupy gently to fast-moving riffle areas with rocky substrates. They spend the majority of their time in moderate-moving, shallow riffles, but can also be found in deeper water (2 to 3 meters deep). Stonecat inhabit natural lakes, such as Lake Erie, where it prefers rock and gravel bars that are subject to significant wave action.
The stonecat is a benthic, opportunistic feeder, using its sensitive barbels during the night to search for food on the river bottom. Stonecats eat a diversity of food items, such as aquatic insect larvae (e.g., mayflies), mollusks, minnows, fish eggs, isopods, amphipods, crayfish, plant material, worms and chilopods.
Females mature in three to four years and a mean standard length of 4.7 inches. Stonecats form monogamous pairs for breeding, and spawn when water temperatures reach 25 °C. Clutches are guarded by males under large, flat rocks in pools or crests of riffles. Rocks used as spawning cover averaged 200 square inches and were found in water depths averaging 34 inches. The eggs are amber-yellow and are very large, ranging between 3.5 and 4 mm in diameter, with the whole egg mass enveloped by a gelatinous material. A female stonecat may produce between 200 and 1,200 eggs per year. Stonecats exhibit parental care, with the male or both sexes guarding the clutch, until the young head to shallower, calmer streams and waters to mature.
