Animal Diversity Web

Ge­o­graphic Range

Brindled mad­toms (No­tu­rus mi­u­rus) re­side in North Amer­ica, specif­i­cally the con­ti­nen­tal United States and the lower re­gions of On­tario. These fish are found na­tively in major drainages in the east­ern and Mid­west­ern United States. Drainages in­clude the basins of the Great Lakes, Illi­nois River, Mis­sis­sippi River, and the Gulf of Mex­ico. These fish can be found from Lake Erie to Mis­sis­sippi, and as far west as Kansas and Ok­la­homa. (Froese and Or­tanez, 2013; Fuller, 2004; Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Os­bourn, 1901; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic
  • native

Habi­tat

Brindled mad­toms re­side in fresh­wa­ter streams and lakes and are cat­e­go­rized as warm water fish. Streams, pools, and rivers with brindled mad­toms are small to mod­er­ately-sized with sand, mud, gravel, or large rocks at the beds. They also in­habit river sys­tems of major drainages. They in­habit the ben­thic level of streams and rivers; in lakes they are found at shal­lower depths. Their av­er­age depth of oc­cur­rence is ap­prox­i­mately 1.35 me­ters (4.4 feet). Areas with rocky or sandy beds are pre­ferred over clay or mud. Their pre­ferred wa­ters are quiet, slow-flow­ing, and clear with mod­er­ate to dense veg­e­ta­tion and clay-like sand at the banks and beds. Veg­e­ta­tion and dense habi­tats are uti­lized for nest­ing or day­time cover. (Froese and Or­tanez, 2013; Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Os­bourn, 1901; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Habitat Regions
• freshwater

• Aquatic Biomes
• benthic
• lakes and ponds
• rivers and streams

• Average depth

  1.35 m

  4.43 ft

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Brindled mad­toms are scale­less fishes with eight whisker-like bar­bels around their mouths used as sen­sors. Their heads are flat­tened and round and posses a wide mouth and large eyes. Dor­sal and pec­toral fins have spin­ous rays, which are ven­omous. Small, saw-like notches known as serra are found on the an­te­rior face of the pec­toral fins. Larger ser­rae are found on the pos­te­rior face of the pec­toral fins. The upper por­tion of their jaw ex­tends slightly be­yond their lower jaw. Brindled mad­toms are typ­i­cally a yel­low-brown to gray tone. There are 3 to 5 dark sad­dles along the length of these fish, ex­tend­ing over their backs. The lat­eral line and the spaces be­tween the sad­dles have a light pig­men­ta­tion. The col­oration be­comes pro­gres­sively lighter on the lat­eral sur­face. The light­est pig­men­ta­tion on their body is found on their ven­tral sur­face, which is mainly white. Nasal and max­il­lary bar­bels are a dusky brown. The pelvic fin and pec­toral fin have scat­tered pig­men­ta­tion. There is a black spot along the an­te­rior of the dor­sal fin. The anal and adi­pose fins fea­ture a se­ries of small blotches ex­tend­ing to the base of the fin. The cau­dal fin is wide, dark, and rounded with an un-pig­mented band through the cen­ter. The adi­pose fin may be fused with the cau­dal fin; oth­er­wise, they are sep­a­rated by a small notch. Ma­ture fish are ap­prox­i­mately 50 to 100 mm in length. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Os­bourn, 1901; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Other Physical Features
• bilateral symmetry
• venomous

• Sexual Dimorphism
• male larger

• Range length

  50 to 130 mm

  1.97 to 5.12 in

• Average length

  100 mm

  3.94 in

De­vel­op­ment

Brindled mad­tom eggs are ap­prox­i­mately 3.0 mm in di­am­e­ter and hatch ap­prox­i­mately seven to nine days after fer­til­iza­tion. They are born with highly pig­mented eyes and rays in their cau­dal fins. After two weeks growth, they are ap­prox­i­mately 14 mm in length and the ma­jor­ity of the yolk sac has been ab­sorbed. Cau­dal pig­men­ta­tion and dark blotches arise at two weeks post-fer­til­iza­tion. In the first two months of de­vel­op­ment, fish grow to half of their ma­ture size. By 13 to 18 months, male and fe­male lengths start to de­vi­ate. In most cases, males and fe­males are ma­ture by two years of age. Fe­males can reach ma­tu­rity as early as one year of age and are born with all of their ma­ture eggs. On av­er­age, males tend to be larger in size than fe­males. (Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

Re­pro­duc­tion

Males in breed­ing con­di­tion have an al­tered phys­i­cal ap­pear­ance; they have thick mus­cles on the top of their head, pro­trud­ing lips, and larger gen­i­tal papil­lae. Breed­ing males are drab­ber than non-breed­ing males. Breed­ing fe­males also ac­quire en­larged gen­i­tal papil­lae. Mat­ing oc­curs in pairs, but fe­males are known to breed with more than one part­ner dur­ing the spawn­ing sea­son. Not much is known about how mate se­lec­tion oc­curs. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Men­zel and Raney, 1973; Os­bourn, 1901; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Mating System
• monogamous
• polyandrous
• cooperative breeder

In­di­vid­ual brindled mad­toms spawn once in their life­time and have a mod­er­ate clutch size. Spawn­ing oc­curs in the spring and sum­mer months in warmer water tem­per­a­tures. Spawn­ing be­tween males and fe­males oc­curs in the evening and early morn­ing, when light is min­i­mal. Fol­low­ing fer­til­iza­tion, nests are formed in a de­pres­sion that males guard. Brindled mad­toms are able to se­crete a tem­po­rary ad­he­sive upon fer­til­iza­tion, which al­lows eggs to be stuck under rocks or other veg­e­ta­tion. Mat­ing cou­ples are to­gether in the nest­ing area and fer­til­ize the eggs there. Not much is known about their ac­tual spawn­ing process. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Key Reproductive Features
• seasonal breeding
• sexual
• fertilization
  • external
• oviparous

• Breeding interval

  Brindled madtoms breed once per lifetime.

• Breeding season

  Spawning and fertilization occur in the spring or summer months.

• Range number of offspring

  50 to 100

• Average number of offspring

  80

• Range time to hatching

  7 to 9 days

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

  1 years

• Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

  2 years

Upon com­ple­tion of fer­til­iza­tion, mated pairs of brindled mad­toms guard the nest that con­tains their young. These areas are under rocks or in de­pres­sions with some cov­er­age. The ma­jor­ity of the guard­ing is done by the male who fer­til­ized the eggs. Male guardian­ship ter­mi­nates shortly after the eggs hatch. Dur­ing the short pe­riod after hatch­ing, males give pro­vi­sional care and su­per­vise their young. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Ross, 2001; Smith, 1979)

• Parental Investment
• male parental care
• pre-hatching/birth
  • protecting
    • male
• pre-independence
  • provisioning
    • male

Lifes­pan/Longevity

In the wild, brindled mad­toms live ap­prox­i­mately three years on av­er­age. They are alive long enough to reach ma­tu­rity, re­pro­duce, and take care of their young. Males live longer on av­er­age than fe­males. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Ross, 2001)

• Range lifespan
  Status: wild

  5 (high) years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  3 years

• Average lifespan
  Status: wild

  3 years

Be­hav­ior

Brindled mad­toms are noc­tur­nal; day­time is spent under shel­ter or rocks. For­ag­ing and spawn­ing oc­curs at night. On oc­ca­sion they may also re­side in cans, bot­tles, or other de­bris. In the early stages of their de­vel­op­ment, brindled mad­toms some­times form schools for pro­tec­tion. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Ross, 2001)

• Key Behaviors
• natatorial
• nocturnal
• motile
• sedentary

Home Range

There is cur­rently no in­for­ma­tion avail­able re­gard­ing the home range size of brindled mad­toms.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Not much is known about the com­mu­ni­ca­tion or per­cep­tion of brindled mad­toms. How­ever, other cat­fish species are known to pos­sess ex­ter­nal taste buds, par­tic­u­larly on their bar­bels. As bot­tom feed­ers, these fish use their bar­bels to help them for­age. (Atema, 1971; Caprio, 1975)

• Perception Channels
• tactile
• chemical

Food Habits

Brindled mad­toms for­age at night, mostly near the sub­strate. On oc­ca­sion they re­side near de­bris, eat­ing the small or­gan­isms and lar­vae near cans, bot­tles, and other dis­carded items. Brindled mad­toms are om­niv­o­rous, eat­ing plants as well as smaller an­i­mals. Their diet can vary based on food avail­abil­ity and local re­sources. Like oth­ers mem­bers of the cat­fish fam­ily, brindled mad­toms are ben­thic feed­ers, feed­ing off aquatic in­sects, mi­cro-crus­taceans, isopods, and veg­e­ta­tion, as well as other small in­ver­te­brates. Plant in­take makes up only a small frac­tion of their diet. Sen­sory bar­bels around their mouths as­sist in search­ing for food. (Hubbs and La­gler, 2004; Ross, 2001)

• Primary Diet
• carnivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods
  • eats other marine invertebrates
• omnivore

• Animal Foods
• aquatic crustaceans

• Plant Foods
• algae
• macroalgae

• Other Foods
• detritus

Pre­da­tion

Brindled mad­toms are prey for larger fish in their area in­clud­ing long­nose gars. The ven­omous spikes on their pec­toral spines as­sist in ward­ing off preda­tors. Brindled mad­tom eggs are also tar­geted as a food source for preda­tors. (Burr and May­den, 1982; Os­bourn, 1901; Ross, 2001)

• Known Predators

  • longnose gars (Lepisosteus osseus)

Ecosys­tem Roles

As a preda­tor and prey species, brindled mad­toms have a large im­pact on their ecosys­tem. In ad­di­tion, these fish are often par­a­sitized by ne­ma­todes, as well as flukes and cope­pods. (Burr and May­den, 1982)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Brindled mad­toms are in­tol­er­ant of pol­luted water and poor water qual­ity, which makes them a good in­di­ca­tor species. (Smith, 1979)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse ef­fects of brindled mad­toms on hu­mans. How­ever, these fish have ven­omous glands at the base of their pec­toral fins, al­though this only causes a prob­lem if they are han­dled in­cor­rectly. (Froese and Or­tanez, 2013; Fuller, 2004)

• Negative Impacts
• injures humans
  • venomous

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Brindled mad­toms are not en­dan­gered on a na­tional level and there are cur­rently no na­tional con­ser­va­tion ef­forts in place for the species. The IUCN lists the species as "Least Con­cern". How­ever, the state of Michi­gan lists the species as "spe­cial con­cern". ("No­tu­rus mi­u­rus", 2013)

• IUCN Red List

  Least Concern

• US Federal List

  No special status

• CITES

  No special status

• State of Michigan List

  Special Concern

Other Com­ments

Brindled mad­toms have in­ter­bred with other mad­tom species, specif­i­cally the tad­pole mad­toms. The larger fe­male hy­brids of these two species are thought to be able to pro­duce vi­able off­spring. (Burr and May­den, 1982; Men­zel and Raney, 1973)

Con­trib­u­tors

Lau­ren Dray­ton (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Lau­ren Sal­lan (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Jeff Scha­ef­fer (ed­i­tor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Leila Si­cil­iano Mar­tina (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web Staff.

Ref­er­ences

2013. "No­tu­rus mi­u­rus" (On-line). In­ter­na­tional Union for Con­ser­va­tion of Na­ture and Nat­ural Re­sources Red List of Threat­ened Species. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 17, 2013 at http://​www.​iucnredlist.​org/​details/​biblio/​184075/​0.

Atema, J. 1971. Struc­tures and Func­tions of the Sense of Taste in the Cat­fish (Ameiu­rus na­talis). Brain, Be­hav­ior and Evo­lu­tion, 4: 273-294.

Burr, B., R. May­den. 1982. Life His­tory of the Brindled Mad­tom No­tu­rus mi­u­rus in Mill Creek, Illi­nois. Amer­i­can Mid­land Nat­u­ral­ist, 107: 25-41.

Caprio, J. 1975. High Sen­si­tiv­ity of Cat­fish Taste Re­cep­tor to Amino Acids. Com­par­a­tive Bio­chem­istry and Phys­i­ol­ogy Part A: Phys­i­ol­ogy, 52:1: 247-251.

Coker, G., C. Portt, C. Mins. 1987. Mor­pho­log­i­cal and Eco­log­i­cal Char­ac­ter­is­tics of Cana­dian Fresh­wa­ter Fishes. Cana­dian Man­u­script Re­port of Fish­eries and Aquatic Sci­ences, 2554: iv-89.

Froese, R., A. Or­tanez. 2013. "No­tu­rus mi­u­rus" (On-line). Fish Base. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 10, 2013 at http://​www.​fishbase.​org/​summary/​3042.

Fuller, P. 2004. "No­tu­rus mi­u­rus Jor­dan, 1877" (On-line). USGS. Ac­cessed Oc­to­ber 17, 2013 at http://​nas.​er.​usgs.​gov/​queries/​factsheet.​aspx?​SpeciesID=749.

Hubbs, C., K. La­gler. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes Re­gion. Ann Arbor, MI: Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan Press.

Men­zel, B., E. Raney. 1973. Hy­brid Mad­tom Cat­fish, No­tu­rus gyri­nus x No­tu­rus mi­u­rus, from Cayuga Lake, New York. Amer­i­can Mid­land Nat­u­ral­ist, 90: 165-176.

Os­bourn, R. 1901. The fishes of Ohio. Colum­bus: Spahr & Glen.

Ross, S. 2001. In­land Fishes of Mis­sis­sippi. Jack­son, MS: Uni­ver­sity Press of Mis­sis­sippi.

Smith, G., J. Tay­lor, T. Grimshaw. 1981. Eco­log­i­cal Sur­vey of Fishes in the Raisin River Drainage, Michi­gan. Michi­gan Acadam­i­cian, 13: 275-305.

Smith, P. 1979. The Fishes of Illi­nois. Illi­nois: Uni­ver­sity of Illi­nois Press.