Fish
Brindled Madtom
Noturus miurus · also called brindled madtoms
Beneath a flat rock in a gently flowing stream, a mottled little catfish barely longer than a finger waits out the daylight hours, its brindled pattern blending seamlessly into the gravel below, right up until an unlucky hand discovers the venomous spines it carries in self-defence.
Overview
The brindled madtom, Noturus miurus, is a small, secretive catfish native to streams and rivers across the Mississippi, Ohio, and Great Lakes drainages of the central and eastern United States. Its distinctive mottled colour pattern, genuinely venomous sting, and preference for moderate-current stream habitat make it a quietly recognisable member of one of North America’s more specialised small catfish genera.
A pattern built for camouflage
Named for a blotchy, brindled colour pattern that closely matches the sand, gravel, and rock of the streambeds it hides among, the brindled madtom relies on staying unnoticed by day and venturing out to forage only after dark.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and stable across suitable stream and river habitat throughout the Mississippi, Ohio, and Great Lakes drainages of the central and eastern United States.
Brindled Madtom: common questions
Why is it called a brindled madtom?
This species carries a dark, mottled, blotchy pattern along its back and sides that resembles brindled fur, a pattern distinctive enough among madtom species to give it its common name and to help the fish blend into the sandy, gravelly, or rocky stream bottoms where it typically hides.
Can a brindled madtom sting you?
Yes, like other madtoms, this species carries venom glands associated with grooved spines in its pectoral and dorsal fins, and mishandling one can deliver a genuinely painful sting, though it is not considered medically dangerous to a healthy adult beyond localised pain and swelling.
What kind of water does the brindled madtom prefer?
This species favours small to medium streams and rivers with slow to moderate current flowing over sand, gravel, or rocky bottoms, generally avoiding both completely still water and fast, turbulent rapids, a preference that places it between the habitat extremes favoured by some of its madtom relatives.
How can you tell a brindled madtom from other madtom species?
One useful feature is its adipose fin, which runs almost all the way to the tail fin with only a shallow notch separating the two, along with its distinctive dark, mottled, saddle-like blotch pattern, both details that help distinguish it from other similarly small, secretive madtom species sharing the same streams.