PROCEEDINGS OF THE OKLAHOMA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Volume 77—1997

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Additional Records of Bighead Carp, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, in Oklahoma Waters

Jimmie Pigg
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality,
Environmental Services Laboratory, Oklahoma City, OK 73117-1299

Jim Smith and Mark Ambler
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation,
Northeastern Regional Offices, Porter, OK 74454

In 1991, we reported the first records of the bighead carp (Hypophthalmicthys nobilis) in Oklahoma (1). We reported this species from the Neosho (Grand) River in Miami (T27N R23E S06), Ottawa County, and from the Grand River below Grand Lake near Pensacola (T23N R21E S30), Mayes County.

On 16 May 1996, a 28.4-kg bighead carp (Figure 1) was snagged by Jim Wagner from the Ogeechee Bay area of upper Grand Lake (T21N R3E S36). This new record is the first known specimen since our report from 1991. Mark Amber of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation reported that another individual was collected from Lake Hudson in August 1996. As Lake Hudson is the next reservoir on the Grand River below Grand Lake, the presence of this specimen may indicate downstream dispersal.

REFERENCES

1.   Pigg, J., Stahl, J., Ambler, M., and Smith, J., Two potential sources of exotic fish in Oklahoma. Proc. Okla. Acad. Sci. 73, 67 (1993).

Received: 1996 Nov 19; Accepted: 1997 Apr 25.