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Ameiurus platycephalus (Girard 1859)

Flat Bullhead

Larry Page
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Containing group: Ameiurus

Identification

As the name suggests, the Flat Bullhead has a flat head. The rear edge of the pectoral spine lacks sawlike teeth, and the snout has a fairly straight profile. The body is gold-yellow to dark brown above and dusky cream to white below. The sides are mottled and speckled with dark brown, and the fins are dusky black. There is a large dark blotch at the base of the dorsal fin base. The dorsal, anal, adipose, and caudal fins are edged in black. The anal fin is short, with 21-24 rays. The first gill arch has 11-13 rakers. To 11 1/4 in. (29 cm) total length.

Range

The Flat Bullhead is found in streams on the Atlantic Piedmont and Coastal Plain from the Roanoke River in Virginia to the Altamaha River drainage in Georgia. The species is generally uncommon.

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Distribution of Ameiurus platycephalus. © Larry Page

Habitat

The Flat Bullhead lives in pools of small to large rivers with beds of mud, sand, or rock, and in lakes, ponds and impoundments.

Similar Species

The Snail Bullhead, A. brunneus, has little or no mottling on the side, a rounded snout, a shorter anal fin with 17-20 rays, and 14-17 gill rakers. The Spotted Bullhead, A. serracanthus, has light round spots on a dark body, a black-edged pectoral fin, and large sawlike teeth on the back of the pectoral spine.

Other Names for Ameiurus platycephalus (Girard 1859)

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Ameiurus platycephalus
Location Twitty's Cr., Charlotte Co., VA
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Identified By R. E. Jenkins
Life Cycle Stage Adult
Size 76 mm SL
Copyright © R. E. Jenkins
About This Page

Larry Page
Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Florida, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Larry Page at and Griffin Sheehy at

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

Page, Larry. 2007. Ameiurus platycephalus (Girard 1859). Flat Bullhead. Version 23 May 2007 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ameiurus_platycephalus/69834/2007.05.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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