NPSpecies

The data source confirming park status is over 10 years old. The park status value was chosen due to the lack of current evidence for the occurrence of this species in the park.; Data Source: Britt, 1993

Thought to be introduced into the Potomac Drainage via bait bucket release. Legacy NPSpecies information may no longer be applicable, please remove if it is not applicable. In legacy NPSpecies Cultivation value was Not cultivated with comment: By definition, this species was not introduced as part of the park's mission. Rather, they occur there naturally having been introduced elswhere in the drainage at some point in the past.

Data Source: Britt, 1993

Park Species Detail: Britt, 1993: The bluntnose minnow is widely distributed throughout central North America including the Mississippi and Great Lakes drainages and southern Canada, south down the east coast to Virginia, and southwest to the Gulf states. They are considered to be a good baitfish and therefore have been introduced to other areas. They prefer sand or gravel and occasionally mud bottoms in clear lakes and streams. They tend to avoid heavily weeded areas. Males can obtain a length of 102 mm (fL) and females 76 mm (fL). Females reach maturity in 1 to 2 years and males in their 3rd year. They can live at least 5 years. Their inferior mouth is adapted for bottom feeding and their diet consists of organic detritus, some insect larvae, and zooplankton. Spawning occurs in late May or June, when ambient water temperatures reach 68 OF and may continue into August, if conditions are favorable. Females may spawn twice, and one female will deposit 200-500 eggs in a season. The males will build a nest on the underside of flat rocks, boards, bricks, logs or anything that provides a suitable undersurface. The male will clear away any sediment with his tail and clean the undersurfaces of the nest substrate by using his head as a scraper. After the nest is completed he allows the female to enter and deposit her eggs. Successive females will enter the nest to deposit their eggs. The nest is constantly guarded by the male. The nest may contain as many as 5,000 eggs. The eggs hatch in 6-14 days, depending on temperature, and the young are 5 mm long within the first growing season they can reach a length of 55 mm., Park Species Data Source: Britt et al 1993.