Iowa DNR
BioNet
River & Stream Biological Monitoring
Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
Physical Habitat Assessments

Flathead Chub Platygobio gracilis

Family
Leuciscidae (Minnows)
Tolerance
Intermediate
Trophic Class
Insectivore
Is Exotic to Iowa?
False
Is Lithophilous Spawner?
False
Is Hybrid?
False
State Listing Status
Not Listed
Assessment Program Statistics

This species was found at 33 bioassessment sites, 0 rapid fish bioassessment sites, 2 fisheries assessment sites, and 0 fisheries presence-only assessment sites. In total, it was collected at 35 distinct sites, or 2.3% of the 1514 total sites monitored by the bioassessment program. It is the 75th most commonly collected species.

The Flathead Chub was collected in 51 bioassessment sampling sessions and 2 fisheries assessment sessions. It was present in 0 rapid bioassessment sessions and 0 presence-only sessions.

The biological assessment program has collected a total of 836 individual Flathead Chub specimens, ranking it the #65 most collected fish.

Species Characteristics

Flathead Chubs have a body adapted for life in strong currents. The most distinctive characters are their strongly depressed head and large sickle-shaped pectoral fins. A large, sub-terminal mouth has a barbel at the corner of the jaw. Pharyngeal teeth are arranged in a pattern of 2, 4-4, 2. The dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins have 8 rays, while the pectoral fins have 16 to 19 rays. The lower lobe of the caudal fin is usually darker than the upper lobe. A complete lateral line has 48 to 57 scales. These chubs are straw to brown-colored on the back, shading to silver on the sides and belly.

Species Distribution Maps

HUC12 watersheds where this species has been found