Central Stoneroller, Campostoma anomalum, Conasauga River July 2023

In one of my reference books, the authors write: “There has been a tendency among ichthyologists to ignore stonerollers as boringly common, ubiquitous, not very handsome, and of little taxonomic interest”, although they hasten to add that there has been research indicating that the two accepted species are, in fact, five or six separate species.

So, I present to you in this short video “a boringly common fish”. However, I don’t share that opinion. I found their behavior fascinating and, after watching the video, I still can’t quite figure out how they are feeding. These are juveniles; the adults may reach a length of 30cm (11.8”). Their spawning behavior is apparently very interesting but that’s for another video.

Видео Central Stoneroller, Campostoma anomalum, Conasauga River July 2023 канала Bruce Carlson