By Brynn Walling, USFWS
The peak flow of water in the Neosho River drainage in Kansas, occurs in June and July. This is also the time that the federally protected Neosho madtoms (a fish) begin spawning. That means that there are currently madtom eggs being fertilized in Kansas as we post this blog!
Madtom (Photo: USFWS)
Neosho madtoms are a federally threatened species in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. These catfish face habitat loss due to dam construction. They are also affected by deteriorating water quality due to zinc-lead mining, agricultural runoff, and increased urbanization and industrialization. These small catfish only grow to be about 3 inches long and are only found in 4 locations. Not only are they scarce due to small populations, but they are bottom-dwelling night feeders, so they are a hard fish to spot anyways.