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

Creek Chub
Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill, 1818)

Taxonomy

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Teleostei
Order Cypriniformes
Family Leuciscidae
Genus Semotilus
Species Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill, 1818)

Description

Diagnostic characters

Ecological class
Stygoxene
Realm
Aquatic

Distribution

Range

Known from eight counties across three states.

Continent

North America

Country

United States

States and provinces

Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee

Counties

Alabama
Jackson, Lawrence, Madison, Marshall, Morgan
Kentucky
Breckinridge, Edmonson
Tennessee
Coffee

Conservation and management

IUCN Red List

LC Least Concern

EXEWCRENVUNTLC▲

Assessed in 2013.

NatureServe

G5 Secure

G1G2G3G4G5▲

National ranks

United States
N5 Secure
Canada
N5 Secure

Subnational ranks

Delaware
S4 Apparently Secure
Indiana
S5 Secure
North Dakota
SNR Unranked
Georgia
S5 Secure
North Carolina
S5 Secure
Texas
S3 Vulnerable
District of Columbia
S4 Apparently Secure
Wisconsin
S5 Secure
Michigan
S5 Secure
Kentucky
S4 Apparently Secure
Minnesota
SNR Unranked
New Hampshire
S5 Secure
Louisiana
S5 Secure
Colorado
S5 Secure
Illinois
S5 Secure
Connecticut
S5 Secure
Massachusetts
S4 Apparently Secure
Oklahoma
SNR Unranked
Montana
S4 Apparently Secure
Utah
SNA Not Applicable
Nebraska
S5 Secure
Tennessee
S5 Secure
Kansas
S5 Secure
South Carolina
S5 Secure
Alabama
S5 Secure
Maine
S4 Apparently Secure
New Jersey
S5 Secure
Pennsylvania
S5 Secure
Missouri
SNR Unranked
Mississippi
S5 Secure
Vermont
S5 Secure
Arkansas
S4 Apparently Secure
South Dakota
S5 Secure
New Mexico
S3 Vulnerable
New York
S5 Secure
Maryland
S5 Secure
Ohio
S5 Secure
Wyoming
S5 Secure
Iowa
S5 Secure
Virginia
S5 Secure
West Virginia
S5 Secure
Nova Scotia
S5 Secure
Manitoba
S5 Secure
Ontario
S5 Secure
New Brunswick
S5 Secure
Saskatchewan
S3 Vulnerable
Quebec
S5 Secure

State and federal status

Not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

References

  • Barr, T.C., Jr. & Kuehne, R.A. 1971. Ecological studies in the Mammoth Cave system of Kentucky. II. The Ecosystem. Annales de Speleologie 26: 47–96. doi:10.5038/1827-806X.3.1.10
  • McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
  • McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
  • Niemiller, M.L., Anderson, C.L., Maxwell, E.C., Midgette, H., Quering, C., Richards, M., Wilson, K. & Wirwa, N. 2025. A noteworthy range extension of the federally endangered Alabama Cave Shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae) south of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama. Southeastern Naturalist 24: N47-N58. doi:10.1656/058.024.0403
  • Pearson, W.D. & Boston, C.H., Jr. 1995. Distribution and status of the northern cavefish, Amblyopsis spelaea. Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife, Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program,, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. 99 pp.
  • Poulson, T.L. 1961. Cave adaptation in amblyopsid cavefishes. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. 185 pp. doi:10.7302/9847
  • Ray, C.K., Tan, M. & Armbruster, J.W. 2014. First record of Chrosomus erythrogaster (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) in the Mobile Basin. Southeastern Naturalist 13: N33-N36. doi:10.1656/058.013.0402
  • Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & McGregor, S.W. 1992. Geologic, hydrologic, and biologic investigations in Arrowwood, Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and selected caves, Madison, County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 262 pp.
  • Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & McGregor, S.W. 1994. Hydrogeologic and biologic factors related to the occurrence of the Alabama cave shrimp (Palaemonias alabamae), Madison County, Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 161: 1–147.

How to cite this account

Semotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill, 1818). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2925. https://cavebiology.org/species/semotilus-atromaculatus/ (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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