Blacktip Jumprock

Diet and feeding

The FishTraits compilation records these diet categories for this species: algae or phytoplankton; detritus or unidentified plant material; invertebrates or larval fish. These are broad categories, not a claim that every individual consumes every example in a category.

Reported feeding positions include bottom feeding. The compilation combines published observations; diets can vary with age, locality, and available food.

Habitat preferences

Reported habitat associations include medium to large rivers, streams and small rivers, creeks.

The source records associations with clay or silt, cobble, boulders, bedrock, organic debris. An association indicates reported use, rather than an exclusive requirement.

Reproduction and parental care

The compilation reports a representative maturity age of 2 years. Its maturity field summarizes mean, median, or modal estimates, usually for females; male estimates can be used when female data are unavailable. It is not a fixed age at which every fish first breeds.

Recorded spawning months are Apr, May, Jun for the source’s reporting region (VA). This is a regional calendar, not a range-wide schedule.

The reproductive-guild classification includes spawning on open substrates without guarding the brood.

Size and recorded longevity

FishTraits reports a maximum total length of 19 centimetres. Some entries use an estimated asymptotic length; this value should not be treated as a certified record catch.

Recorded longevity in the compilation is 10 years. Wild observations were preferred, but captive records were accepted where wild records were unavailable, and unspecified records were assumed wild. The value is not a guaranteed wild lifespan or an aquarium life expectancy.

Identification and appearance

Page and Burr (1991); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994). The genus Moxostoma was revised by Smith (1992), and Scartomyzon, a subgenus of Moxostoma, was elevated to genus. However, Harris et al. 2002 suggest that Scartomyzon is not a distinct lineage and its species are within the Moxostoma lineage (Nelson et al., 2004).

Native range

Atlantic Slope drainages from Chowan River, Virginia, to Neuse River, North Carolina (Page and Burr 1991; Jenkins and Burkhead 1994).

Introduction history

The population in the New drainage is thought to be a result of bait bucket introduction from the Roanoke or James drainages. This population was originally thought to have reached Craig Creek by stream capture, but more recent records of collections above and below the creek suggest human introduction (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.). Jenkins and Burkhead (1994) give evidence for introduced status, but suggest no means of introduction for the Craig Creek population.