Noturus flavus Rafinesque
Stonecat
The stonecat was not taken at the upper Marais des Cygnes station, and was less abundant at the middle Marais des Cygnes station than at other stations. The abundance of the stonecat was greatest at the lower Marais des Cygnes station in 1957 and at the upper Neosho station in 1959. The species increased in abundance from 1957 to 1959 in the Neosho River, where the principal habitat was riffles over rubble bottom.
Thirty-three stonecats were marked at the upper Neosho station in 1959. Five of these were recaptured three hours after release, all near the point of release. One individual was taken from a riffle, fin-clipped, and released at the foot of the next riffle downstream. When recaptured four days later, this fish was still in the area of release. Young-of-the-year were taken on July 1, 1959, at the lower Neosho station.
Noturus gyrinus (Mitchill)
Tadpole Madtom
Trautman (1957:444-445) describes the habitat of the tadpole madtom as "low-gradient lowland streams, springs, marshes, oxbows, pothole lakes, and protected harbors and bays of Lake Erie, where conditions were relatively stable, the water was usually clear, the bottom was of soft muck which generally contained varying amounts of twigs, logs, and leaves, and where there usually was an abundance of such rooted aquatics as pondweeds and hornwort. The species seemed to be highly intolerant to much turbidity and rapid silting,..." The tadpole madtom was obtained only at the middle Marais des Cygnes station in a small, deep, mud-bottomed pool in 1957 after water levels, and probably turbidity, had been low for five years. The occurrence provides the westernmost record station in Kansas. Cross and Minckley (1958:106) reported the species from the lower part of the Marais des Cygnes in Kansas.
Noturus nocturnus Jordan and Gilbert
Freckled Madtom
The freckled madtom was taken only at the middle Neosho station on 19 April, 1958. This species occurs most frequently in small streams, and individuals living in the mainstream of the Neosho probably are "strays" from nearby tributaries. This species may have utilized the mainstream as a refugium in the drought of 1952-'56.
Noturus exilis Nelson
Slender Madtom
The slender madtom was taken only at the middle Marais des Cygnes station in the fall of 1957. This species prefers permanent riffles of clear streams (Deacon and Metcalf, 1961:317). My specimen possibly strayed from a nearby tributary; or, it was a relict from a population living in the mainstream during drought.
Noturus sp.
Neosho Madtom