Black Buffalo
Return To Search
Name and Code
Family
Catostomidae - suckers
Species
Ictiobus niger
Taxonomic Authority
(Rafinesque 1819)
Common Name(s)
Black Buffalo
French Name
buffalo noir
Species Code
174
Family TSN
163892
Parent TSN
163954
Species TSN
163957
Conservation Status
Global Rank (GRank)
G5 (2012-02-21)
National Rank (NRank)
NU (2017-12-22)
Provincial Rank (SRank)
SU (2009-04-02)
COSEWIC Status
Data Deficient (Apr 2007)
SARO Status
Data Deficient
AFS Status
none
Status Notes
none
Ecological Value
Ontario Origin
introduced
General Abundance
rare
Tolerance
intermediate
Economic Importance
none
Length-Weight Regression Coefficents
Intercept (a)
no data
Slope (b)
no data
Length Basis
n/a
Habitat and Feeding
General Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Environment
benthic
Trophic Class
invertivore/herbivore
Thermal Regime
warmwater
Habitat Preference
deep pools and backwaters of turbid vegetated rivers, impoundments and lakes
Reproduction
Reproductive Guild
Nonguarders: Open substratum spawners: Litho-pelagophils
Spawning Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Spawning Season
spring
Spawning Month(s)
May-June
Spawning Temperature (°C)
11-15
Fecundity
400,000
Nursery Habitat(s)
lacustrine; riverine
Size and Age
Adult Length (cm)
40.8-66.0 TL
Adult Weight (kg)
1.0-4.7
Age at Maturity (yrs)
4-5
Maximum Length (cm)
123 TL
Maximum Weight (kg)
48.08
Lifespan (yrs)
14-24
Ontario Records
Record Length (cm)
67.0 TL
Record Weight (kg)
none
Ontario Range Map
Black Buffalo range
Ontario Distribution
Lake Erie and tributaries, Niagara River, Thames River, North Sydenham River; first reported from Ontario waters of Lake Erie in 1978
Photographs
Black Buffalo photograph
Black Buffalo photograph
Notes
tolerant of turbidity; intolerant of pollution; reported to hybridize with Bigmouth Buffalo and Smallmouth Buffalo; Ontario populations may be hybrids
Information Sources
Bailey, R.M., W.C. Latta, and G.R. Smith. 2004. An atlas of Michigan fishes with keys and illustrations for their identification. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications No. 192. iv + 215 pp.
Barbour, M.T., J. Gerritsen, B.D. Snyder, and J.B. Stribling. 1999. Tolerance and trophic guilds of selected fish species. Appendix C in Rapid bioassessment protocols for use in streams and wadeable rivers: periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates and fish, second edition. EPA 841-B-99-002. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Office of Water. Washington, DC.
Becker, G.C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, WI. xii + 1052 pp.
Carlander, K.D. 1969. Handbook of freshwater fishery biology. Volume one. Life history data on freshwater fishes of the United States and Canada, exclusive of the Perciformes. Iowa State University Press. Ames, IA. vi + 752 pp.
Coad, B.W. with H. Waszczuk and I. Labignan. 1995. Encyclopedia of Canadian fishes. Museum of Nature and Canadian Sportfishing Productions. Ottawa and Waterdown, ON. viii + 928 pp.
Coker, G.A., C.B. Portt, and C.K. Minns. 2001. Morphological and ecological characteristics of Canadian freshwater fishes. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2554: iv + 89 p.
COSEWIC. 2023. Canadian wildlife species at risk. October 2023. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Gatineau, QC. iv + 130 pp.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels. Can. MS Rpt. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2550: v + 39 p.
Ditz, K. and E. Holm. 2023. Ontario Fish Species Codes and Names. Ichthyology and Herpetology, Royal Ontario Museum. May 1994. Modified February 2023.
Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. [2nd printing, 2001]. The University of Tennessee Press. Knoxville, TN. xiv + 689 pp.
Goldstein, R.M. and T.P. Simon. 1999. Toward a united definition of guild structure for feeding ecology of North American freshwater fishes. Pages 123-202 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Holm, E., N. Mandrak, and M. Burridge. 2021. A field guide to freshwater fishes of Ontario, second edition. Royal Ontario Museum Science Publication. Toronto, ON. 486 pp.
Houston, J. 1990. Status of the Black Buffalo, Ictiobus niger, in Canada. Can. Field-Nat. 104(1):98-102.
Hubbs, C.L. and K.F. Lagler. 1964. Fishes of the Great Lakes region. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xv + 213 pp.
Hubbs, C.L., K.F. Lagler, and G.R. Smith. 2004. Fishes of the Great Lakes region, revised edition. University of Michigan Press. Ann Arbor, MI. xvii + 276 pp.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). 2023. On-line database. http://www.itis.gov, retrieved 02 May 2023.
Kay, L.K., R. Wallus, and B.L. Yeager. 1994. Reproductive biology and early life history of fishes in the Ohio River drainage. Volume 2. Catostomidae. Tennessee Valley Authority. Chattanooga, TN. vii + 242 pp.
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister, and J.R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History Publication 1980-12. Raleigh, NC. x + 867 pp.
Mandrak, N.E. and E.J. Crossman. 1992. A checklist of Ontario freshwater fishes annotated with distribution maps. Royal Ontario Museum Life Sciences Miscellaneous Publication. Toronto, ON. v + 176 pp.
NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/ (Accessed: February 2, 2023).
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). 2013. Extinct, not at risk and data deficient species in Ontario list, 18 April 2013.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico, second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Boston, MA. xix + 663 pp.
Page, L.M., K.E. Bemis, T.E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-PĂ©rez, L.T. Findley, C.R. Gilbert, K.E. Hartel, R.N. Lea, N.E. Mandrak, M.A. Neighbors, J.J. Schmitter-Soto, and H.J. Walker Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 8th Edition. American Fisheries Society, Spec. Publ. 37. Bethesda, MD. 439 pp.
Ross, S.T. 2001. The inland fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. xx + 624 pp.
Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184. [1998 Reprint] Galt House Publications Ltd. Oakville, ON. xx + 966 pp.
Scharpf, C. 2006. Annotated checklist of North American freshwater fishes, including subspecies and undescribed forms. Part II: Catostomidae through Mugilidae. American Currents 32(4):1-39.
Simon, T.P. 1999. Assessment of Balon's reproductive guilds with application to midwestern North American freshwater fishes. Pages 97-122 in T.P. Simon [Ed]. Assessing the sustainability and biological integrity of water resources using fish communities. CRC Press. Boca Raton, FL. xx + 671 pp.
Smith, P.W. 2002. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. Urbana and Chicago, IL. xxix + 314 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., J.M. Boltz and L.R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Reprinted from The Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389. Pennsylvania State University. 389 pp.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., R.W. Criswell and D.P. Fischer. 2016. The fishes of Pennsylvania. Cichlid Press. El Paso, TX. 556 pp.
Trautman, M.B. 1981. The fishes of Ohio with illustrated keys, revised edition. Ohio State University Press. Columbus, OH. xxv + 782 pp.
Warren, M.L., Jr., and B.M. Burr [Eds]. 2014. Freshwater Fishes of North America, Volume 1: Petromyzontidae to Catostomidae. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. xv + 644 pp.