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.

Habitat

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.

Distribution

The 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.

Behaviour

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.