Bigeye chub (''Hybopsis amblops'') is a species of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of ...

in the carp family ( Cyprinidae).

Geographic distribution

The native range of the Bigeye chub includes the

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and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

drainages in New York,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

as well as the Ohio River basin from New York to eastern

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and south to the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

drainage,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, and the

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of southern

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, northern

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, and northeastern Oklahoma. There is one record of this species in the Cottonwood River in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

. It is absent from the Missouri River drainage. This species in endangered in

Ecology

The Bigeye chub is a freshwater fish of the United States. It prefers a habitat near

riffle A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics. Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...

s in quiet water with aquatic vegetation, in small to moderate size, clear-water

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainag ...

with a sand, gravel, or rocky substrate. It is highly intolerant of

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...

Characteristics

This species has a long, blunt snout with a down turned, overhanging mouth. It is a light greenish yellow color, besides the black lateral stripe stretching from its mouth to the tail. Like other Hybopisis, this genus has a single mouth barbel that contains taste buds. The bigeye chub has an elliptical eye shape that is directed upward. They reach about 2 to 3 inches in length. Their diet consists of aquatic insects such as different kinds of larvae and large mayfly.

History

The Bigeye chub experienced drastic population declines in the mid 20th century. In the 1970's and 1980's, they were so rapidly disappearing they were thought to be extirpated. With recovery methods and research, a steady increase has been seen since 2000 in central Illinois. However, they are still considered endangered.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20130111034246/http://www.bio.utk.edu/hulseylab/Fishlist.html Hybopsis Fish described in 1820 Freshwater fish of the United States Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque {{Leuciscinae-stub