Distribution of Fishes in the Red River of the North Basin on Multivariate Environmental Gradients
Cyprinidae
Bluntnose Minnow
Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque), the bluntnose minnow, was collected by
Woolman (1896) from the Goose, Sheyenne, Otter Tail, and Buffalo Rivers and
Daugherty Creek, a tributary to Lake Traverse, where it was rare to common in
the samples (Figure A40). Hankinson (1928) listed Hyborhynchus notatus from
the Sheyenne River and described it as uncommon in North Dakota. Hubbs and
Schultz also collected it from the Sheyenne River in 1926 (UMMZ 1994); and
Olson (1932) listed the species from the Red Lake, Clearwater, and Wild Rice
Rivers in Minnesota. The bluntnose minnow has been taken primarily from the
Forest, Sheyenne, and Otter Tail Rivers, with scattered reports from several other
streams. The species has been present at 13% of the stream sites sampled in
the basin since 1962, but it has been most common in reaches of the NCH
ecoregion, where it has occurred at 31% of sites. The bluntnose minnow has
typically been common in samples, and as many as 125-150 individuals have
been taken at sites west of Otter Tail Lake (Otter Tail River).
Figure A40. Distribution of the bluntnose minnow in streams of the Red River of the North basin.