Range Extensions for Three Species of Madtoms (Noturus: Ictaluridae) in Kansas

Abstract

Collections of fishes from the Neosho River system in Kansas included apparent range extensions for three species of madtoms. On 4 September 1988, three freckled madtoms, Noturus nocturnus Jordan & Gilbert (MHP 2075; KU 22169), and one Neosho madtom, Noturus placidus Taylor (MHP 2068), were captured with a seine from a gravel riffle 0.25 mi. S and 0.5 mi. W of Dunlap, Morris County, (Sec. 14, T17S, R9E). Based upon distributional information given by Cross (1967) and by Cross and Collins (1975), both of these records represent range extensions upstream in the Neosho River from previously reported sites in Lyon County. Stonecats, Noturus flavus Rafinesque, also were collected at this site. A previously unpublished range extension for the Neosho madtom (MHP 2067; KU 21941) from Lightning Creek, a tributary of the Neosho River in Cherokee County, was obtained on 18 April 1987 by a Fort Hays State University ichthyology class from a rocky area along the downstream side of a low-water bridge 1 mi. N and 12.5 mi. W of Columbus (Sec. 11, T33S, R21E). Typically a resident of the mainstream channels of the Neosho, Spring, and Cottonwood rivers in Kansas, the two specimens collected at this site represent the first confirmed occurrence of Neosho madtoms within a smaller tributary stream based upon an assessment of previous reports presented by Moss (1981). The Neosho madtom currently is listed as a threatened species in Kansas (K.A.R. 1987 Suppl.) under the Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act (K.S.A. 1986). On 22 October 1988, four slender madtoms, Noturus exilis Nelson (MHP 2076; KU 22168), were collected with a seine from rock and gravel riffles in the Neosho River at the U.S. Highway 56 bridge in Council Grove, Morris County (Sec. 14, T16S, R8E), and a single specimen (MHP 2077) was taken the same day from a riffle in the Neosho River 3 mi. S and 2.5 mi. E of Council Grove (Sec. 31, T16S, R9E). Cross and Collins (1975) stated that the slender madtom previously had been found within the upper Neosho River system only in Rock Creek, Wabaunsee County, but they showed a