Abstract
Two new Ohio localities for the Freckled Madtom (Noturus nocturnus Jordan and Gilbert, 1886) were recently discovered. These are the first, and currently only, Freckled Madtom collected in Ohio waters. A single individual was collected in the Scioto River in Scioto County by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI) and a previously misidentified specimen was collected in the Ohio River at the Hannibal Locks and Dam by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO). The closest historical records are from the Little Sandy River and Big Sandy River drainages in eastern Kentucky. Other Ohio River collections have been made near the border of Kentucky and Indiana. The origins of the recent Ohio specimens are unknown; whether they emanate from other known populations or have been overlooked altogether is unclear.
Highlights
Madtom species are small, obscure catfishes that are generally intolerant of degraded water quality conditions and require specific habitats
A single Freckled Madtom was collected in the upper Ohio River on 28 September 2005 by Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) during a lock chamber rotenone survey at the Hannibal Locks and Dam in Monroe County, Ohio
The ORSANCO specimen was originally identified as Stonecat Madtom × Tadpole Madtom hybrid (Noturus flavus × Noturus gyrinus) and deposited in the fish collections at the Penn State University (PSUM 10005)
Summary
Madtom species (genus Noturus) are small, obscure catfishes that are generally intolerant of degraded water quality conditions and require specific habitats. Noturus spp. inhabit a range of habitats including high-gradient stretches of streams with riffles comprised of gravel, cobble, and boulder substrates to low-gradient streams with undercut banks, detritus substrates, and woody debris (Burr et al 2020). Freckled Madtom (Noturus nocturnus) generally inhabits medium-sized streams to large rivers with slight to moderate current, silty sand or gravel substrates, and woody debris (Smith 1979; Burr and Mayden 1982; Robison and Buchanan 2020). As a cavity nester, Freckled Madtom utilize spaces under rocks and trash in shallow riffles with slow flows for spawning (Burr and Mayden 1982; Robison and Buchanan 2020). Timing for spawning varies, occurring from early May to mid-August in the majority of its range, and through the summer in the southern
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