A 112-year old bigmouth buffalo from Minnesota blew maximum age estimates for the species out of the water, so much so that the bigmouth buffalo became the oldest age-validated freshwater fish.
A 112-year old bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus) from Minnesota is the oldest age-validated freshwater fish, blowing the previously assumed maximum age estimates for the species out of the water.
From the May 24, 2021 FishingWire.
The supercentenarian fish was collected as part of a North Dakota State University study, and more than quadrupled a previous maximum age estimate of 26 years. A team form Oklahoma State University shared its findings in a paper titled “New Maximum Age of Bigmouth Buffalo.”
Not only does this study shatter our perceptions of bigmouth buffalo longevity, it also shows that the fish mature at a later age than previously thought, and suggests that age classes may not reproduce each year. Another study in North Dakota confirmed that bigmouth buffalo exhibit what is called “episodic” or irregular recruitment, and that it is related to environmental conditions. The fish have occasional years of spawning success separated by periods of poor reproduction for a decade or more. This slow-paced life history strategy is consistent with other large-bodied and long-lived species with few natural predators. The new life history information on bigmouth buffalo, and similar data specific to Oklahoma, can help biologists better understand and collect further data to manage this species, and other species like it.
The Fishes of Montana App notes: These large, powerful native fish have a reputation for being both tough to catch and very tough to land on rod and reel. In some areas of its range, Bigmouth Buffalo are hunted at night with bows. Bigmouth Buffalo come to the surface to feed at night making relatively easy targets. Indiscriminate bowhunting has extirpated the species from in many areas that once had large, healthy buffalo populations.