Ictiobus niger (Rafinesque, 1819)
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
The black buffalo (Ictiobus niger) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the Catostomidae or sucker family. With a lifespan of up to 108 years, it is among the longest-lived of freshwater fish species. Found in the Mississippi Basin and southern Great Lakes. It was first discovered in Canada in the western end of Lake Erie and has been reported from Boston Creek. The Tennessee distribution ranges from rivers and streams in the Cumberland Mountains, a few rivers in middle Tennessee, and in west Tennessee along the Mississippi River. The ecology of the species is quite similar to that of I. bubalus. I. niger has a ventrally positioned mouth, making the species’ diet benthic-oriented. It has a distinct body shape and a mouth position that is intermediate between those of I. bubalus and I. cyprinellus. It is distinguished with some difficulty from the former species by its smaller relative eye size and more streamlined body shape.
Wikipedia contributors, Black buffalo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:54:05.763810+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ictiobus niger (Rafinesque, 1819)
- Name authority
- (Rafinesque, 1819)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Catostomidae
- Genus
- Ictiobus
- 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
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCatostomidae Agassiz, 1850
- subfamilyIctiobinae Bleeker, 1863
- genusIctiobus Rafinesque, 1820
- speciesIctiobus niger (Rafinesque, 1819)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ictiobus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fleshylip BuffaloIctiobus labiosus (Meek, 1904) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Southern BuffaloIctiobus meridionalis (Günther, 1868) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque, 1818) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ictiobus cyprinellus (Valenciennes, 1844) | CatostomidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Amblodon niger Rafinesque, 1819 Rafinesque, 1819 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1022850 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:6N5WT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.