Giant pandas, snow leopards, blue whales, and whooping cranes… What do all these species have in common? They are all endangered and well loved by many people. Most people are willing travel far and wide to see some of the world’s most endangered species, when they had one swimming right in their back yards here in Columbus, Ohio.
This endangered critter is called the Scioto madtom (Noturus trautmani). It is a small species of catfish in the family Ictaluridae. Unfortunately, the Scioto madtom has been listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List since they haven’t been found since 1957. Even if the Scioto madtom is labeled as extinct, they are still kept on the Endangered Species List so that if they are found again they get automatic protection. A total of 18 of these fish were found, the first being discovered in November of 1943 by Miltom Trautman. All of them were caught in a small section of the Big Darby Creek, which is a tributary of the Scioto River. The Big Darby creek is very high quality, making it a perfect habitat for pollution intolerant species, as most madtoms are. They were caught in a gravel bottomed riffle, which are shallow parts of a stream that causes ripples.
The Scioto madtom is small, only about 1.4 – 2.4 inches long. Their body is brown with four darker saddles across their back. They have a white or cream colored belly with sensory barbels hanging from their chin. Their caudal (or tail) fin is squared with a dark brown bar in the center (Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife). Like all madtoms, they have fin spines that contain a mild stinging venom.
Not much is known about this madtom, but researchers have been able to discover some traits. This fish would be a bottom feeder that uses its sensory barbels to find aquatic invertebrates (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Not much is known about how the Scioto madtom reproduces, but scientistsbelieve that they spawn upstream in the summer and move downstream in the fall, as all of the 18 specimens were caught in the fall.
So go out and explore the natural world here in Ohio, because you never know, you might end up finding a new species or even catching one of these possibly extinct little catfish.
Sources:
Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife. “Ohio.gov / Search.” Ohio DNR Division of Wildlife, wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/scioto-madtom.
“Noturus Trautmani .” Noturus Trautmani (Scioto Madtom), www.iucnredlist.org/details/14908/0.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Scioto Madtom (Noturus Trautmani).” Official Web Page of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/fishes/sciot_fc.html.
“Noturus Trautmani Summary Page.” FishBase, www.fishbase.org/summary/Noturus-trautmani.html.
Images (In Order of Appearance):
Photo by M. R. Thomas
Photo by Mark Ferenchik, The Columbus Dispatch