SILVER CHUB

Photo by David Ostendorf
used by permission

Silver Chub
Macrhybopsis storeriana

Federal Status:
None

State Status:
Endangered

• Range:
  Dark Blue = Counties with designated critical habitat
  Light Blue = Historical records
• Comments: The silver chub is a 2005 addition to the Kansas endangered list. It’s considered a big river chub because it lives in large, sandy rivers. In Kansas, it’s found in the lower Arkansas, Ninnescah and Missouri rivers. Once common in the Kansas River, there are no records since 1980. The large eyes and mouth barbels of the silver chub are adaptations for finding food by either sight or smell in clear or turbid waters. The silver chub lives on or near the bottom of the river where it feeds on insects, plant seeds and small mollusks. In Lake Erie, it is known to feed heavily on the exotic, invading zebra mussel. Large reservoirs, predators and competition have contributed to the decline of the silver chub. It can reach 9 inches in length but most are 4-5 inches long.

Other Fish on the Kansas T&E List