(Ameiurus natalis) is translated in Latin meaning "primitive or curtailed" for Ameiurus, in reference to the notch in the distal end of the caudal fin, and natalis meaning "having large buttocks".
Other common names of yellow bullheads are polliwog, chucklehead cat, butter cat, yellow cat, creek cat, white-whiskered bullhead, and greaser.
Atema et al. (1969) and Todd (1971) have indicated that yellow bullheads are a very social fish and can recognize other individuals and their social status by their smell. The olfactory apparatus (i.e., nose) is responsible for this ability, while the barbels and other dermal taste buds are used for locating food (Etnier and Etnier, 2005).
Taste buds are found in the mouth and all over the body. Yellow bullheads have 5 taste buds every 5 mm² on their body surface. The barbels serve as both an external tongue and hands. Bullheads can feel with their body and their barbels. They also have 20,000 taste buds on the eight whiskers. The average adult has a total of over 200,000 taste buds on its body.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
Yellow bullheads are not known to have any specific conservation status.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Yellow bullhead eggs hatch five to ten days after fertilization. The male yellow bullhead guards the nest during this period. Upon hatching, the young fry are herded into tight schools by the male and protected until they are approximately two inches long. Sexual maturity is reached between the ages of 2 and 3 years, when the fish are at least 140 mm in length.
Bullheads are very well known for the ability to inflict a sting with their pectoral spines. The pain can last for a week or more. The sting is caused by small glands near their fins that produce a poison which causes the swelling. The pain can be dulled by dabbing ammonia on the wound.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings)
Yellow bullheads are not considered to be a game fish, but they are widely sought after for food. Yellow bullheads also can be introduced into streams with high pollution because of their high tolerance to pollution.
Positive Impacts: food
Yellow bullheads have been found to be a host species for creepers (Strophitus undulatus) and they are parasitized by leeches (Hirudinea).
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Like all other catfish species, yellow bullheads are opportunistic feeders. Yellow bullheads feed at night. They have been known to eat minnows, crayfish, insects and insect larvae, aquatic invertebrates, and worms. Compared to the other two bullheads, the yellow bullheads consume more aquatic vegetation. The young will feed on aquatic invertebrates.
Animal Foods: fish; carrion ; insects; mollusks; terrestrial worms; aquatic crustaceans
Plant Foods: macroalgae
Other Foods: detritus
Primary Diet: carnivore (Insectivore , Eats non-insect arthropods, Molluscivore )
Yellow bullhead (Ameiurus natalis) range throughout the eastern United States, extending north to southeastern Canada and west to the Great Plains and Rio Grande drainage; they are introduced elsewhere (Etnier and Starnes, 1993).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Yellow bullhead prefer backwaters with slow current in rivers and streams. They can be found in the shallow parts of streams, lakes, ponds, or large bays. Habitat varies from a slow current with poorly oxygenated, highly silted, and highly polluted water to a more swift current with clean and clear water that has aquatic vegetation. Yellow bullhead are bottom dwellers, living in areas with muck, rock, sand, or clay substrates.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; temporary pools
Yellow bullheads have a 7 year life span in the wild.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 7 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 4.0 years.
Yellow bullhead are ray-finned fish that lack scales. The dorsal part of the body can be yellow to olive, brown, mottled gray, or black. The belly is usually a yellow color. The caudal fin is rounded and unforked. Anal fin rays number 24 to 28; 25 to 26 is most common. Yellow bullhead may live to be 7 years old, and grow up to 45.7 to 48.3 centimeters long and weigh up to 3.2 kilograms.
Yellow bullhead are similar to black (Ameiurus melas) and brown (Ameiurus nebulosus) bullhead. They differ from these two species in that they have white or yellow chin barbels. Both black and brown bullhead have some dark pigmentation on the chin barbels. Fins and colorations are similar among the three species.
Average mass: 454 g.
Range length: 20.3 to 25.4 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Average mass: 1278 g.
Yellow bullheads are preyed upon by larger fish such as largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and other catfish. Large wading birds and some turtles will also take the adults. The young will be taken by smaller predators, aquatic invertebrates, leeches, and crayfish. They can inflict venomous stings with their pectoral spines, helping them to avoid predation.
Known Predators:
Yellow bullhead males dig nests, which may range from a shallow depression in muddy sediment to a deep burrow in the stream bank. Protected nest sites near rocks and stumps with dense vegetation are preferred. Nest sites attract females for mating.
Mating System: monogamous
Yellow bullhead spawn from April until June, beginning when water temperatures reach 23 to 28 degrees Celsius. The female produces 300 to 700 sticky yellowish eggs per spawning act, and the nest can contain 1700 to 4300 eggs in total.
Breeding interval: Yellow bullheads breed once yearly.
Breeding season: Yellow bullheads breed and spawn from April to July.
Range number of offspring: 1700 to 4300.
Average gestation period: 5-7 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2-3 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2-3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous
Average number of offspring: 500.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
Sex: male: 730 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 730 days.
Both the male and female help in the construction of the nest and while the young are in the nest one of the parents will guard them. After the fry hatch the male herds the young into a dense ball and will protect them until they grow to two inches long.
Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male); pre-independence (Protecting: Male)
