Black buffalo

This page is about a species. For the Indigenous American warchief, see Crazy Horse. For the Indigenous American woman, see Black Buffalo Woman. For the professional wrestler, see Black Buffalo (wrestler).

The black buffalo (Ictiobus niger) is a North American species of freshwater fish in the Catostomidae or sucker family. I. niger is found in the Mississippi Basin and southern Great Lakes. I. niger 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. I. niger has a distinct shape that mocks I. bubalus and I. cyprinellus considering it a hybrid between the two species.