Bullhead minnow

The bullhead minnow (Pimephales vigilax) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Leuciscidae, the shiners, daces and minnows. This demersal fish is native to the Mississippi River system in the United States, to tributaries of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and to northern Mexico.

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. They are found more often in waters that typically have little to no movement, such as in river pools. It is one of the 324 fish species found in Tennessee. 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.