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their limited use as for sport, they are usually caught while trying to catch other fish, and few anglers pursue them specifically. Persons looking to catch bullheads will use the same bait as they would for channel catfish, including cut bait, chicken livers, blood-soaked meal, or other pungent baits. In the
Northeastern US, bullheads are often sold to restaurants in the spring for "fish fries" by amateur fisher folk by the 5 gallon bucket load. Like all catfish, bullheads have a sense of smell that is more developed than most canines.
136:
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1016:
742:, southern Minnesota a commercial bullhead fisherman named Bryant Baumgartner killed plainclothes game wardens Marcus Whipps, A. Melvin Holt, and Dudley Brady, who were investigating his operation. The killings became known as The Bullhead Murders, as researched by James M. Keller for his 2012 book, "Tragedy on Fish Row: The Waterville Shootings." Baumgartner then killed himself.
735:, bullhead are important to commercial fishermen, who harvest about 1 million pounds a year. Bullheads can make excellent live bait for larger catfish species such as flathead catfish in states where legal. Bullhead catfish can quickly become overpopulated in ponds, and proper management techniques must be employed in order to properly maintain bullhead populations.
714:
All three major bullheads can be confused with other catfishes by novice anglers. Because they have an unforked tail, many people mistakenly think small flathead catfish are bullheads. Both have the squared tail, and can have a mottled, brown appearance (in the case of the brown bullhead), but the
718:
Flatheads generally eat only live things, while bullheads will freely eat dead fish or other small animals. The flathead is more likely to be found at the bottom of dams or in gravel pits, while bullheads are found more often in the more murky areas. Additionally, flatheads can reach weights well
749:
The black bullhead flourished in waters polluted by sewers, mink farms, chicken and livestock processors, and other largely unregulated waste producers. What wasn't sold for human consumption, the guts, bones, skins, and heads became food for mink ranches. Scott
Mackenthun, a fisheries biologist
702:
Bullheads live in a variety of habitats, including brackish and/or low oxygen ponds, rivers and lakes, although they are seldom stocked intentionally. They are bottom feeders and eat virtually anything edible, including dead fish, insects, other fish, grain, fruit, crayfish and more. Because of
745:
In the early 20th century local people could sell their catch for cents on the pound, more if cleaned. Wholesalers would pack the fish for market where eager customers sought out the cheap protein. However, Minnesota restricted its bullhead limit to 50 per day in 1939 due to concern about
719:
in excess of 100 pounds (45 kg), while the current world's record for any bullhead is a black bullhead, recorded at 8 pounds (3.6 kg) even while the average adult is perhaps 2 pounds (0.91 kg). Brown and yellow bullheads are significantly smaller.
750:
with the
Minnesota DNR, said black bullhead abundance has declined statewide the past 40 years after the Clean Water Act took effect in 1972. The DNR unveiled a memorial to the three slain conservation wardens in June 2011 in nearby New Ulm.
711:
Bullheads do not get as large as the other catfishes native to North
America, with average sizes in the one to two-pound range and world record sizes well under 10 pounds (4.5 kg).
534:
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overfishing of bullheads with nets, and the state's wardens were actively monitoring commercial fishing operations for compliance at the time of the 1940 murders.
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flathead lower lip protrudes farther than its upper lip and it has a flat or "shovel" head. They also have very different habits and habitat.
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by many, and are seldom caught for food, although they can be quite edible if caught in clear water and prepared correctly. In
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835:
655:
1149:
1271:
836:"Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types"
1240:
1314:
1162:
792:
773:
Hardman, Michael; Page, Lawrence M. (2003). "Phylogenetic
Relationships among Bullhead Catfishes of the Genus
1222:
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1092:
446:
810:
1097:
1276:
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1020:
869:
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135:
20:
556:, gives a minimum age estimate for the genus at approximately 30 million years, during the
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There are currently eight recognized fossil species in this genus: The oldest,
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223:
19:"Bullhead catfish" redirects here. For other catfishes with that name, see
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1064:
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957:"Effective Strategies for Removing Bullhead Catfish from an Overpopulat"
357:, meaning it forms a natural group. It is mostly closely related to the
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889:"Catfish and Bullheads - How Big is Big - Freshwater Fishing"
663:
358:
413:
There are currently seven recognized species in this genus:
793:
10.1643/0045-8511(2003)003[0020:prabco]2.0.co;2
334:
The species known as bullheads can be distinguished from
772:
321:), as well as other species, such as the white catfish (
706:
1291:
654:catfishes are natively distributed east of the
342:by their squared tailfins, rather than forked.
331:), which are not typically called "bullheads".
345:
1320:Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
658:, from their westernmost point in central
112:
768:
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289:. It contains the three common types of
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1305:Freshwater fish of the United States
1251:f97bc82e-0dcb-484a-8cee-160bf036d8d7
1163:c148339d-7b15-43f4-a5e3-03ee3838f27a
974:
13:
1325:Extant Oligocene first appearances
932:"Catfish Management Minnesota DNR"
547:
14:
1336:
1310:Fish of the Eastern United States
1008:
656:North American continental divide
408:
392:relationship between the species
1014:
938:from the original on 5 June 2011
895:from the original on 7 July 2011
505:
485:
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134:
44:
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949:
924:
906:
881:
863:
834:Ferraris, Carl J. Jr. (2007).
799:
777:(Siluriformes: Ictaluridae)".
707:Description and identification
1:
753:
986:Smith, Doug (17 July 2010).
870:Understanding Catfish Senses
7:
10:
1341:
697:
403:
346:Taxonomy and fossil record
18:
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918:November 9, 2006, at the
857:10.11646/zootaxa.1418.1.1
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229:
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131:Scientific classification
129:
120:
111:
30:
21:Bullhead (disambiguation)
823:. December 2011 version.
809:; Pauly, Daniel (eds.).
293:found in waters of the
1315:Freshwater fish genera
723:Relationship to humans
514:Ameiurus platycephalus
891:. Fishing.about.com.
738:On July 12, 1940, in
629:Ameiurus sawrockensis
529:Ameiurus serracanthus
361:formed by the genera
1158:Fauna Europaea (new)
1023:at Wikimedia Commons
727:They are considered
666:, in streams of the
639:Ameiurus vespertinus
619:Ameiurus reticulatus
961:Reel Texas Outdoors
934:. Dnr.state.mn.us.
609:Ameiurus pectinatus
569:Ameiurus hazenensis
875:2007-10-19 at the
811:"Species in genus
650:Living species of
543:(Spotted bullhead)
494:Ameiurus nebulosus
484:(Yellow bullhead)
311:Ameiurus nebulosus
123:Ameiurus nebulosus
1287:
1286:
1259:Open Tree of Life
1033:Taxon identifiers
1019:Media related to
599:Ameiurus macgrewi
542:
523:
504:(Brown bullhead)
503:
483:
464:(Black bullhead)
463:
444:(White bullhead)
443:
428:
419:Ameiurus brunneus
353:is recognized as
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1228:NHMSYS0000544614
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913:The best 'o bull
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674:Coast, north to
579:Ameiurus lavetti
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497:
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474:Ameiurus natalis
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429:(Snail bullhead)
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319:Ameiurus natalis
291:bullhead catfish
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36:Temporal range:
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589:Ameiurus leidyi
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548:Extinct species
524:(Flat bullhead)
411:
406:
348:
336:channel catfish
328:Ictalurus catus
315:yellow bullhead
260:
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237:Rafinesque 1820
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232:Silurus lividus
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16:Genus of fishes
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434:Ameiurus catus
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409:Extant species
407:
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347:
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323:Ameiurus catus
307:brown bullhead
303:Ameiurus melas
299:black bullhead
285:in the family
281:is a genus of
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995:. Retrieved
992:Star Tribune
991:
965:. Retrieved
963:. 2024-07-01
960:
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940:. Retrieved
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787:(1): 20–33.
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692:Saskatchewan
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646:Distribution
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398:A. nebulosus
397:
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390:sister group
387:
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355:monophyletic
350:
349:
340:blue catfish
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224:Type species
208:
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188:Siluriformes
121:
31:
25:
1184:iNaturalist
1065:Wikispecies
662:, south to
388:There is a
313:), and the
287:Ictaluridae
198:Ictaluridae
1294:Categories
967:2024-07-01
942:2011-05-29
899:2011-05-29
754:References
740:Waterville
729:rough fish
460:Rafinesque
382:Pylodictis
215:Rafinesque
851:: 1–628.
733:Minnesota
558:Oligocene
370:Prietella
283:catfishes
154:Kingdom:
148:Eukaryota
40:Oligocene
1300:Ameiurus
1085:Ameiurus
1071:Ameiurus
1050:Wikidata
1041:Ameiurus
1021:Ameiurus
936:Archived
916:Archived
893:Archived
873:Archived
820:FishBase
813:Ameiurus
775:Ameiurus
688:Manitoba
672:Atlantic
652:Ameiurus
440:Linnaeus
394:A. melas
351:Ameiurus
278:Ameiurus
244:Synonyms
209:Ameiurus
194:Family:
168:Chordata
164:Phylum:
158:Animalia
144:Domain:
42:- recent
32:Ameiurus
1202:1299500
1176:2340965
1056:Q601085
997:23 July
844:Zootaxa
698:Habitat
684:Ontario
660:Montana
541:, 1968)
522:, 1859)
502:, 1819)
500:Lesueur
482:, 1819)
480:Lesueur
462:, 1820)
442:, 1758)
427:, 1877)
404:Species
364:Noturus
305:), the
262:Gronias
256:Agassiz
252:Amiurus
204:Genus:
184:Order:
174:Class:
1277:154198
1264:687155
1248:NZOR:
1215:164034
1150:304640
1137:1AMEIG
780:Copeia
690:, and
680:Quebec
539:Relyea
537:&
535:Yerger
520:Girard
379:, and
297:, the
268:, 1864
258:, 1846
217:, 1820
1272:WoRMS
1241:50384
1197:IRMNG
1189:58658
1124:24532
1111:628WM
839:(PDF)
664:Texas
376:Satan
359:clade
1236:NCBI
1210:ITIS
1171:GBIF
1132:EPPO
1098:2790
1093:BOLD
999:2022
849:1418
785:2003
678:and
670:and
396:and
338:and
266:Cope
47:PreꞒ
1223:NBN
1119:EoL
1106:CoL
1080:ADW
853:doi
789:doi
325:or
1296::
1274::
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976:^
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783:.
761:^
694:.
686:,
682:,
560:.
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373:,
367:,
97:Pg
1001:.
970:.
945:.
902:.
859:.
855::
815:"
795:.
791::
635:†
625:†
615:†
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595:†
585:†
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565:†
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498:(
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102:N
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72:C
67:D
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57:O
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