Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas Part 4

#Lepisosteus platostomus# Rafinesque: One shortnose gar (K. U. 3157) has been taken from the Arkansas River in Cowley County. This gar was taken by Mr. Richard Rinker on a bank line on April 10, 1955, at station A-3.

#Dorosoma cepedianum# (Le Sueur): Stations W-3, G-4, C-4, C-5, M-1, E-1, E-4.

In smaller streams such as the Elk and Caney rivers adult gizzard shad seemed scarce. They were more common in collections made in larger rivers (Walnut, Verdigris, and Neosho). In impoundments of this region shad often become extremely abundant. Schoonover (1954:173) found that shad comprised 97 per cent by number and 83 per cent by weight of fishes taken in a survey of Fall River Reservoir.

#Carpiodes carpio carpio# (Rafinesque): Stations A-1, A-2, A-3, W-3, G-1, C-3.

Hubbs and Lagler (1947:50) stated that the river carpsucker was "Mostly confined to large silty rivers." Of the stations listed above C-3 least fits this description being a large shallow pool about 1/3 acre in area having bedrock bottom and slightly turbid water. The other stations conform to conditions described by Hubbs and Lagler (_loc. cit._).

#Carpiodes velifer# (Rafinesque): SBS. Three specimens of the highfin carpsucker (K. U. 177-179) were collected on July 11, 1912, from an unspecified location on Elk River in Elk County.

#Ictiobus bubalus# (Rafinesque): Stations W-3, G-1, G-2, C-1, C-3, C-4, C-6, E-1, E-2, E-3.

The smallmouth buffalo shared the downstream proclivities of the river carpsucker. In half of the collections (G-2, C-1, E-1, E-2, E-3) only large juveniles were taken; in the other half only young-of-the-year were found. In one pool at station C-1 hundreds of young buffalo and gar were observed. This large shallow pool was 100 150 feet, with an average depth of 8 inches. The bottom consisted of bedrock. Station C-6 was a small pool with bedrock bottom, eight feet in diameter, with an average depth of only 4 inches. Station E-3 was also a small isolated pool with bedrock bottom and an average depth of 6 inches.

#Ictiobus niger# (Rafinesque): Station C-5.

Only two specimens of the black buffalo were taken. An adult was caught on spinning tackle, with doughb.a.l.l.s for bait. The second specimen was a juvenile taken by seining one mile below Station C-5 on September 22.

#Ictiobus cyprinella# (Valenciennes): Station G-2.

Two juvenal bigmouth buffalo were taken in a shallow pool, along with several juvenal smallmouth buffalo.

#Moxostoma aureolum pisolabrum# Trautman and #Moxostoma carinatum# (Cope): SBS.

Two specimens of _Moxostoma aureolum pisolabrum_ (K. U. 242-243) and one specimen of _Moxostoma carinatum_ (K. U. 223) were taken from an unspecified locality on Elk River in Elk County on July 11, 1912. There are no other records for any of these fish in the collection area. _M.

aureolum pisolabrum_ has been taken in recent years in eastern Kansas (Trautman, 1951:3) and has been found as far west as the Chikaskia drainage in northern Oklahoma by Moore and Buck (1953:21). That occasional northern redhorse enter the larger rivers of the area here reported on seems probable.

_M. carinatum_ has been reported only a few times from Kansas. The only recent records are from the Verdigris River (Schelske, 1957:39). Elkins (1954:28) took four specimens of _M. carinatum_ from cutoff pools on Salt Creek in Osage County, Oklahoma, in 1954. This recent record suggests that occurrences in southern Kansas are probable.

#Moxostoma erythrurum# (Rafinesque): Stations G-5, G-7, G-10, G-12, C-4, C-5, C-6, C-8, C-10, C-11, C-12, C-13, C-15, E-1, E-2, E-4 (C-131, C-133, C-136).

The golden redhorse was common in several of the streams surveyed, and utilized the upland parts of streams more extensively than any of the other catostomids occurring in the area. _M. erythrurum_ and _Ictiobus bubalus_ were taken together at only two stations. In no case was _I.

bubalus_ taken from a tributary of Grouse Creek or of Big Caney River.

In contrast _M. erythrurum_ reached its greatest concentrations in such habitat, although it was always a minor component of the total fish population. Stations C-5 and E-2 were the lowermost environments in which this redhorse was taken.

The largest relative number of golden redhorse was found at station G-12 on Crab Creek where 7.5 per cent of the fishes taken were of this species. This station consisted of intermittent pools averaging one foot in depth. Bottoms were bedrock and rubble and the water was clear and shaded. The fish were consistently taken in the deeper, open part of the pool where aquatic vegetation, which covered most of the pool, was absent.

Another station at which _M. erythrurum_ was abundant was C-12 on Cedar Creek. Here a long, narrow, clear pool was the habitat, with average depth of 17 inches, and bottom of bedrock.

#Minytrema melanops# (Rafinesque): Stations G-10, C-4, C-12, E-1.

Occurrences of the spotted sucker were scattered. At stations C-4 and G-10 single specimens were taken. At station E-1 (July 9) one specimen was taken at the mouth of a small tributary where water was turbid and quiet. This specimen (K. U. 3708) was the largest (9-3/8 inches total length) found, and possessed pits of lost tubercles.

#Cyprinus carpio# Linnaeus: Stations A-1, W-1, W-2, W-3, W-4, G-3, G-4, G-6, G-8, C-3, C-5, E-4.

Carp were taken most often in downstream habitat. No carp were taken above station C-5 on Big Caney River.

The earliest date on which young were taken was July 7, when 46 specimens, approximately 1/2 inch in total length, were taken from the Walnut River at station W-1. The small carp showed a preference for small shallow pools; adults were found in deeper pools.

#Hybopsis aestivalis tetranemus# (Gilbert): Station A-3.

Only one specimen of the speckled chub was taken. The species has been recorded from nearby localities in the Arkansas River and its tributaries both in Kansas and Oklahoma. Its habitat seems to be shallow water over clean, fine sand, and it occurs in strong current in mid-channel in the Arkansas River. Suitable habitat does not occur in other parts of the area covered by this report.

#Notropis blennius# (Girard): Stations A-1, A-2, A-3.

The river s.h.i.+ner was taken only in the Arkansas River and in small numbers. In all instances _N. blennius_ was found over sandy bottom in flowing water. Females were gravid at station A-1 on June 14. To my knowledge there are no published records of this s.h.i.+ner from the Arkansas River Basin in Kansas. In Oklahoma this species prefers the large, sandy streams such as the Arkansas River. Cross and Moore (1952:403) found it in the Poteau River only near the mouth.

#Notropis boops# Gilbert: Stations G-5, G-7, C-3, C-5, C-8, C-9, C-10, C-11, C-12, C-15, C-16, E-4, E-5, M-1, M-2.

Widespread occurrence of the bigeye s.h.i.+ner in this area seems surprising. Except for this area it is known in Kansas only from the Spring River drainage in the southeastern corner of the state (Cross, 1954b:474). _N. boops_ chose habitats that seemed most nearly like Ozarkian terrain. The largest relative number of bigeye s.h.i.+ners was taken at C-11 in a clear stream described in the discussion of _Notropis rubellus_. At this station _N. boops_ comprised 14.11 per cent, and _N.

boops_ and _N. rubellus_ together comprised 24.78 per cent of all fish taken.

At station G-7 on Grouse Creek the percentage of _N. boops_ was 7.15.

Here, as at station C-11, water was clear. At both stations _Myriophyllum heterophyllum_ was abundant and at G-7 _Nelumbo lutea_ was also common. At G-7 _N. boops_ seemed most abundant in the deeper water, but at C-11 most s.h.i.+ners were found in the shallower part of a large pool.

Two other collections in which _N. boops_ were common were from Spring Creek. It is a small, clear Flint Hills brook running swiftly over clean gravel and rubble. It had, however, been intermittent or completely dry in its upper portion throughout the winter of 1955-'56 and until June 22, 1956. In collections at C-15 on June 28, _N. boops_ formed 6.5 per cent of the fish taken. Farther upstream, at C-16 on July 9, in an area one mile from the nearest pool of water that existed prior to the rains of June 22, _N. boops_ made up 7.2 per cent of the fish taken.

In streams heading in the hilly area of western Elk County, the relative abundance of _Notropis boops_ decreased progressively downstream. On upper Elk River percentages were lower than on upper Grouse Creek and upper Big Caney River.

Hubbs and Lagler (1947:66) characterize the habitat of this species as clear creeks of limestone uplands. There are numerous records of the bigeye s.h.i.+ner from extreme eastern Oklahoma. It has been reported as far west as Beaver Creek in Osage County, Oklahoma. Beaver Creek originates in Cowley County, Kansas, near the origin of Cedar Creek and Crab Creek.

Drought had left a few pools of water in Beaver Creek in Kansas at the time of my survey. The fish-fauna seemed spa.r.s.e and _N. boops_ was not among the species taken. Of interest in considering the somewhat isolated occurrence of the bigeye s.h.i.+ner in the Flint Hills area of Kansas is a record of it by Ortenburger and Hubbs (1926:126) from Panther Creek, Comanche County, Oklahoma, in the Wichita Mountain area of that state.

#Notropis buchanani# Meek: Stations G-1, E-4 (C-131).

At station G-1 the ghost s.h.i.+ner was taken in small numbers in the shallow end of a long pool (150 40 feet.) The three individuals taken at station E-4 were in an isolated pool (50 510 feet) averaging 1-1/2 feet in depth. Water was turbid, and warm due to lack of shade.

The habitat preferences of this species and of the related species _N.

volucellus_ have been described as follows by Hubbs and Ortenburger (1929b:68): "It seems probable that _volucellus_ when occurring in the range of _buchanani_ occupies upland streams, whereas _buchanani_ is chiefly a form of the large rivers and adjacent creek mouths." The results of this survey and impressions gained from other collections, some of which are unpublished, are in agreement with this view. A collection on the Verdigris River at Independence, Kansas, directly downstream from the mouth of the Elk River, showed _N. buchanani_ to be common while _N. volucellus_ was not taken. At station E-5 upstream from E-4, however, _N. volucellus_ was taken but _N. buchanani_ was not found.

In the upper Neos...o...b..sin, Cross (1954a:310) took _N. volucellus_ but not _N. buchanani_. Other collections have shown _N. buchanani_ to be abundant in the lower Neosho River in Kansas. Moore and Paden (1950:85) observe that _N. buchanani_ was found only near the mouth of the Illinois River in Oklahoma and was sharply segregated ecologically from _N. volucellus_ that occupied a niche in the clear main channels in contrast to the more sluggish waters inhabited by _N. buchanani_.

#Notropis camurus# (Jordan and Meek): Stations C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, C-7, C-8, C-9, C-10, C-11, C-12, C-13, E-1, E-5 (C-131).