Shoal Chub
(Macrhybopsis hyostoma)
This small minnow has rather long barbels and external taste buds which it uses to find its food rather than site in the large murky rivers it lives in.
Description
The shoal chub is a small minnow with a long snout that greatly overhangs the mouth. They also have a single rather long barbel positioned at the rear edge of the upper jaw in each corner of the mouth. The shoal chub is mostly silver in color with many small round black spots on its back and sides. The fins of this species are clear. They have a rather small eye and numerous external taste buds on the head, body, and fins.
Habitat and Habits
Shoal chub are found in large rivers often with continuously murky waters over fine gravel or sandy substrates. As a result this species uses external taste buds to locate its food rather than site. They spend most of their time near the bottom and remain in waters greater than four feet deep during the day. On dark moonless nights they venture into shallower water to feed. In Ohio this species was historically found in the Ohio River and the lower portion of some of its larger tributaries, particularly the Muskingum River. It has not been found in Ohio waters since the early 1980's.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
Shoal chub spawn throughout the summer in deep water with swift currents over a sand or gravel substrate. Adults spawn at one year of age and most do not live to spawn a second time. They scatter their eggs, which are slightly heavier than water, which causes them to drift down stream slowly along the bottom with the current. The eggs hatch in a little over a day and the young begin to feed after 2 or 3 days.