Noturus exilis Nelson, 1876
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Noturus exilis, also called the slender madtom, is a species of the catfish family Ictaluridae. Ictaluridae includes bullheads, madtoms, channel catfish, and blue catfish. Noturus exilis is found in the central portion of the Mississippi River basin, but is most abundant in Ozarkian streams. Slender madtoms occur west of the Mississippi River in the Ozarks of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri north to southern Wisconsin and Minnesota. It also occurs east of the Mississippi River in the uplands of Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky in the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Green drainages. Edward Nelson first described Noturus exilis in 1876. The slender madtom is moderately large with a terminal to sub-terminal mouth, flat head, small eyes, and black marginal bands on the median fins. Most slender madtoms are less than 90 millimetres (3.5 in). Noturus flavus and Noturus nocturnus are rather similar in shape and coloration to Norturus exilis. Slender madtoms inhabit small to medium-sized streams, in riffle and flowing pool habitats with coarse gravel to slab rock substrates.
Wikipedia contributors, Noturus exilis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:22:47.641280+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Noturus exilis Nelson, 1876
- Name authority
- Nelson, 1876
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Ictaluridae
- Genus
- Noturus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSiluriformes
- familyIctaluridae Gill, 1861
- genusNoturus Rafinesque, 1818
- speciesNoturus exilis Nelson, 1876
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Noturus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Noturus albater Taylor, 1969 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus crypticus Burr, Eisenhour & Grady, 2005 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus flavater Taylor, 1969 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus funebris Gilbert & Swain, 1891 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus gladiator Thomas & Burr, 2004 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus lachneri Taylor, 1969 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus maydeni Egge, 2006 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus miurus Jordan, 1877 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus munitus Suttkus & Taylor, 1965 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus phaeus Taylor, 1969 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus taylori Douglas, 1972 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Noturus baileyi Taylor, 1969 | IctaluridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Nelson, E. W. (1876). A partial catalogue of the fishes of Illinois. Bulletin of the Illinois Museum of Natural Histor, v. 1 (no. 1): 33–52. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:47ZMJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.