7621

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7621
• Author: Woodling, J.
• Title: Colorado's Little Fish
• USFW Year: 1985.
• USFW - Doc Type: A Guide to the Minnows and Other Lesser Known Fishes in the State of Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

Family ktaluridae
CATFISH
Catfish are a diverse, abundant family.
Species such as bullheads and channel
catfish are important as sport fish and to
the aquaculture industry. Another group
of small catfish, the madtoms and stone-
cats, are not important as a food source
but are used as bait fish. There are three
species of catfish native to Colorado-the
channel catfish, the black bullhead and
the stonecat. Other species have been
introduced.
KEY TO THE FAMILY ICTALURIDAE
1. a. Adipose fin, a fin on the back be.
tween the dorsal fin and tail (caudal)
fin, continuous with the caudal fin.
STONECAT Noturus ffauus.
b. Adipose fin free posteriorly, separ-
ate from the caudal fin.
Go to Number 2.
2. a. Caudal fin deeply forked.
Go to Number 3.
b. Caudal fin rounded, or squarish, not
forked.
BULLHEADS /ctalurus spp.
(See Woodling 1980).

STONECAT
Noturus flavus (Raflnesque)
A small, slender catfish; head broad
and flat; shallow notch between adipose
fin and caudal present but not reaching
the surface of the back; anal fin is short
with 16 rays. The spines of the stonecat
deliver a toxin which can cause a lot of
pain to the unwary person who
mishandles one of these fish.
Stonecats are yellow-brown in color
with a dusky stripe through the center of
the tail fin. Coloration is darker on the
back, fading to white on the stomach.
Maximum length from 8-12 inches.
Range: Stonecats are found in the
north-central United States from Montana
to New York, south to Alabama through
Oklahoma (Miller and Robison 1973).
Found in Kansas, the species is rare in the
western portion of the state (Cross and
Collins 1975). The species Colorado dis-
tribution is not well known. Beckman
(1952) reported the stonecat "was" col-
lected from the Republican River near the
Colorado border. In 1980, Cancalosi col-
lected one stonecat from the North Fork
of the Republican River. In 1984, one
specimen was collected from the Saint
Vrain River near Longmont, Colorado (K.
Fausch, personal communication).
Habitat: Stonecat in Kansas are found
in fast water riffles and runs of streams,
hiding under rocks, woody debris, or
along sandbars during the day (Cross and
Collins 1975). This retiring nature may be
the reason so few stonecats have been
collected in Colorado. One specimen
recorded in Colorado came from an area
of swift current with a sand-gravel bottom
(Cancalosi 1980).
The eastern plains streams of Colorado
with low flows, silt, and frequent dewater-
ing do not provide an ideal habitat for the
stonecat. Colorado is on the western edge
of the stonecat's natural range.
J I i ? I-
I
3. a. Anal fin with 25.30 rays, may have
small spots on body.
CHANNEL CATFISH Ictalurus
punctatus. (See Woodling 1980).
b. Anal fin with 32-35 rays, there are
no small spots on the body.
BLUE CATFISH Ictalurus Furcatus.
Note: The blue catfish has been
introduced into Colorado but does
not reproduce successfully here. A
few fish are still found in some
private waters in Lincoln County,
Colorado.

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Distribution by County of the stonecat.
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13 Colorado's Little Fish
Adult stonecat. Photo by LuRay Parker, Wyoming Game & Fish Department.