Record-Breaking Little Catfish

Whether big or small, we take every opportunity to learn about all the animals in our collection. When one of our long-time resident Margined madtom catfish (Noturus insignis) recently passed away, we did some research and learned that this little fish was a record holder for the largest individual of its species in Virginia.  It broke the length record by more than 30 millimeters and had a total length of 211 millimeters.  That is just over 8 ^5/16 inches!  It is interesting how a relatively small fish can stand out among its state “school.”  In addition, it is a credit to our aquarists for providing the highest quality of care so the animals can live long and healthy lives and grow to be champions.

Photo of Noturus insignis from PlanetCatfish.com