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Cave Biology Data Portal
Subterranean biodiversity of North America and around the globe
AnimaliaChordataVertebrataActinopterygiiSiluriformesIctaluridaeAmeiurus

Brown Bullhead
Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Siluriformes
Family Ictaluridae
Genus Ameiurus
Species Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygoxene
Realm
Aquatic

Distribution

Range

Known from five counties across two states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Florida, Georgia

Counties

Florida
Hamilton, Holmes, Jackson, Washington
Georgia
Walker

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

EXEWCRENVUNTLC▲

Assessed in 2013.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

G1G2G3G4G5▲

National ranks

Canada
N5 Secure
United States
N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Saskatchewan
S3 Vulnerable
Quebec
S5 Secure
Prince Edward Island
SNA Not Applicable
British Columbia
SNA Not Applicable
Nova Scotia
S5 Secure
Manitoba
S5 Secure
Ontario
S5 Secure
New Brunswick
S5 Secure
New Mexico
SNA Not Applicable
Delaware
S5 Secure
Florida
SNR Unranked
Ohio
S5 Secure
Iowa
S3 Vulnerable
Wisconsin
S5 Secure
District of Columbia
S5 Secure
Vermont
S5 Secure
Illinois
S3 Vulnerable
California
SNA Not Applicable
Kentucky
S4 Apparently Secure
South Dakota
SU Unrankable
Colorado
SNA Not Applicable
Nevada
SNA Not Applicable
Rhode Island
S5 Secure
Georgia
S5 Secure
Maine
S5 Secure
New Hampshire
S5 Secure
Indiana
S4 Apparently Secure
Minnesota
SNR Unranked
Texas
SNA Not Applicable
Louisiana
SNA Not Applicable
New York
S5 Secure
Kansas
SNA Not Applicable
North Dakota
SNR Unranked
Michigan
S2 Imperiled
Alabama
S5 Secure
North Carolina
S5 Secure
Missouri
S3 Vulnerable
Nebraska
SNA Not Applicable
Oregon
SNA Not Applicable
Washington
SNA Not Applicable
Arizona
SNA Not Applicable
Oklahoma
SH Possibly Extirpated
Virginia
S5 Secure
Mississippi
S4 Apparently Secure
Idaho
SNA Not Applicable
West Virginia
S2 Imperiled
Massachusetts
S5 Secure
Maryland
S5 Secure
Arkansas
S2 Imperiled
Tennessee
S3 Vulnerable
Pennsylvania
S5 Secure
South Carolina
S5 Secure
New Jersey
S5 Secure
Connecticut
S5 Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Eigenmann, C.H. 1897. The Amblyopsidae, the blind fish of America. Report of the British Association for the Advacement of Science 1897: 685–686. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30118215.
  • Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726.
  • Morris, T.L. 2006. A biological inventory of aquifer caves in Florida with special emphasis on troglobitic crustaceans and salamanders. Final report S0057 to Florida Department of Environmental Regulation. Karst Environmental Services, Inc., High Springs, Florida, USA. 44 pp.
  • Poucher, S. 2011. A Field Guide to the Critters of Florida's Springs. National Speleological Society, Huntsville, Alabama, USA. 124 pp. ISBN 978–1-879961–42–5.
  • Poucher, S. 2022. Wildlife of Florida's Springs. An Illustrated Guide to over 150 Species. Pineapple Press, Palm Beach, Florida, USA. 196 pp. ISBN 9780000000000.
  • Walsh, S.J. 2001. Freshwater macrofauna of Florida karst habitats. Proceedings of the 2001 U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group, USGS Water-Resources Investigations Report 01–4011: 78–88. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_talks/101/.
  • Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125

How to cite this account

Ameiurus nebulosus (Lesueur, 1819). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-1489. https://cavebiology.org/species/ameiurus-nebulosus/ (accessed 7 September 2026).

Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.

Spotted something wrong on this page? Report a correction. Accounts are compiled from many sources and corrections from people who know the group are the most useful email we get.

Cave Biology Data Portal

Species accounts, distributions, and conservation status for the subterranean fauna of North America and around the globe, with resources for the cave and karst research community.

Text and data CC BY 4.0. Images all rights reserved unless stated.

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